C N HUHIJAHi)
W Jl;
OH, BOY!
HAVE YOU HEARD
THE LATEST?
Zbc IDeseyet IRews
Commencing Saturday, JViay 6th, started to publish
the best funny section of any paper in the west.
"Polly and Her Pals" "Jerry on the Job"
"Just Boy" (Elmer) "Toots and Casper"
And daily strips every evening of "Krazy Kat," "Polly
and Her Pals," and others.
See them every Saturday in your paper
Utah's Leading Evening Paper
Latter-day Saints Garments
APPROVED CORRECT PATTERN
Prepaid Parcel Post to any part of the United Statea It paid la ad-
vance, 20c extra on each garment to Canada or Mexico.
These Approved Temple Garment! are knitted and made right here
la oar otto Utah factory, to your special order and measurements. Lowest
plrces on market. Mall your order to us now and say yon saw It in the
"Improvement Era." If order Is C. O. D. yon pay the postage.
LOOK FOR THE APPROVED LABEL IN EVERY GARMENT
No. Price
4 Light summer weight bleached fl.40
11 Light weight cotton „ __ 1.50
20 Light weight cotton bleached „ _. 1.7*
OO Medium weight cotton l.TB
22 Medium weigh*, cotton bleached 2.00
00 Heavy -weight cotton unbleached 2.28
24 Heavy weight cotton bleached 2JJO
BO Extra white double bleached, mercerised „ 8.00
10 Medium weight wool mixture 3.00
16 Heavy weight wool mixture 4.00
70 Snow white Sllklleen S.40
18 All Merino Wool 5.5© *
Sires from 22 to 44 bust, 52 to 94 length, as desired. Longer than 04
laches or over 44 In. bust, each size 20c extra. Garments with double
backs 25c extra per suit. We will make any sire desired.
Measure bant around body under arms; length from eenter on top of
shonlder down to Inside of ankle. Orders for less than two garments not
accepted.
We manufacture sweater coats, Jersey goods and underwear, also
flannel shirts and Mackinaw eoata.
MODEL KNITTING WORKS
FRANKLYN CHRISTIANSON, Manager
067 Iverson St., Salt Lake Cty, Utah r hone Hy. 'il«
"RELTARLE AGENTS WANTED"
WHEN WRITING TO ADVERTISERS, PLEASE MENTION THE IMPROVE AENT ERA
Only a Picture
It was only a picture that hung on the wall,
It was only a picture, you see,
That changed my poor, wretched life to some good,
Just the picture of mother of me.
I was headed straight on the same downward road
That rough fellows travel, you see;
A poor reckless lad when I happened to find
The dear picture of mother of me.
For years I had gambled and drunk a good deal,
And done other bad things for a fee,
When I spied one night, in the house of a friend,
The sweet picture of mother of me.
At first I could scarcely believe my own eyes,
And I felt as ashamed as could be,
For I knew I wasn't half worthy to gaze
On the picture of mother of me.
Her eyes seemed so sad, and her lips seemed to move,
As if pleading more worthy I'd be,
And right there I swore that I'd change my rough course,
By the picture of mother of me.
It hasn't always been easy to stand
So true by that vow, you'll agree,
But when I was tempted I'd only to think
Of the picture of mother of me.
And years now have passed, and I've not worked in vain, —
But, dear mother, 'twas only through thee
That my life has been changed to real usefulness —
Through your picture, oh, mother of me!
Mesa, Arizona. Mrs. Ida. R. Alldredge
\
™ © Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.
PEACE
A design intended to be given by France to the American Soldiers.
The texts at the top and bottom read:
"Those irfio piously died for tlieir country liave a right that the
multitude should come and pray at tlieir Bier."
"To the Memory [here insert name of the soldier] of tlie United
States of America.
Died for Liberty During the Great War.
Homage of France. President of the Republic — Poincare.
Improvement era
Vol. XXV JUNE, 1922 No. 8
Sons of Perdition and the Resurrection'
By President Charles W Penrose
There are some little things that people get jangling about,
I am sorry to say, in some of our classes. For instance: In
section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants there is one of the
grandest revelations that I ever saw in my life in any book;
there is nothing in the Bible that compares with it; there is
nothing in any book that I ever read that compares with it,
for glory, for perfection, for detail, for a revelation of the
plans of the Father for the salvation of his children. Now, in
that revelation, we are told what the gospel is, and we are
told for what it was designed, and that the name of Jesus Christ
was given to the Savior of the world, and that the time will
come when he will save all except certain ones that are named
there. The three different degrees of glory are made very
plain and clear, I think, to all people who will read with a
prayerful heart. The celestial glory is likened to the sun, be-
cause the sun is the biggest luminary that we know much about;
the sun in our firmament is to us the brightest orb that re-
volves, and the glory of the celestial kingdom is, therefore, lik-
ened to the sun. The glory of the terrestrial kingdom is likened
to the moon, because the moon is second in our sight in glory ;
and the third degree, telestial, is called the glory of the stars,
and as one star differs from another star in its magnitude and
glory, according to what we know of astronomy, so it is called
the telestial kingdom. Now, Jesus Christ will bring forth all
these in the resurrection from the dead, even the malefactors
and the extortioners and those who love and make a lie — the
wickedest kind of people, after they have suffered the penalty
of the wrath of God, so that justice is satisfied, will be brought
*From a sermon delivered at the April, 1922, General Conference of the
Church.
672 IMPROVEMENT ERA
forth into some degree of glory. Those who get into the ce-
lestial kingdom have to attend to certain ordinances that are
explained, and those who get into the terrestrial kingdom are
to have certain qualities that are explained; there are several
degrees in that one glory; and so in the telestial world, the
worst kind of humanity, all except those few that are called
"Sons of Perdition."
The meaning of that is made very plain. There was an
angel in the presence of God, of great authority and power, and
he was called a Son of the Morning, a bright luminary among
the spirits in the celestial world, and he rebelled against the
Father and tried to get the glory that belonged to the Son, and
he was turned away and cast down with those who followed
him, and he was called Perdition, and the heavens wept over
him when he was cast out. Then those, who by his power,
while they are in the flesh, after receiving the testimony of
Jesus Christ, the spirit of prophecy; after receiving the Holy
Ghost, turn away from its light altogether and deny the Holy
Ghost and deny the Father and the Son; when they thus turn
away, they come under Satan's power and his dominion and
are called Sons of Perdition, and these are the exceptions to
the rule spoken of in that revelation. All the rest are brought
forth by the resurrection of the dead into some degree of glory,
as explained, not in that single verse, as some people think it
ought to have been, but throughout the whole revelation, and
we learn clearly that those who are eventually saved, redeemed,
brought out of darkness, brought out of punishment, they are
brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, into one of these
degrees of glory, all but these exceptions. He says he saves all
except them; they shall go away with the devil and his angels
into everlasting punishment.
All Mankind, Good and Evil, will be Resurrected
Now then, some of our brethren have taken a notion in their
heads that when he says all except them, it means they will not
be resurrected. I would like briefly to refer you to the 88th
section of the Doctrine and Covenants, in which this subject
is elaborated; that is, the things revealed in the 76th section in
regard to these three different degrees of glory into which all
these persons are brought forth to salvation, are congregated
and arranged and organized with these exceptions. Now, in the
88th section, you will find that the Lord goes into further de-
tails, and he shows that when the resurrection comes, those
who are of a celestial spirit, having obeyed the celestial law, will
be quickened by the celestial glory. Then comes the next de-
gree, those who receive the terrestrial principles, and they come
SONS OF PERDITION AND THE RESURRECTION 673
forth and are quickened by the terrestrial glory. Then comes
the third group. These are they who come forth in the te-
lestial glory, and their glory differs as one star differs from
another, and they shall each be judged according to their
works, as all will be. So there are various degrees of these peo-
ple, who are brought forth according to their crimes and their
punishments and their redemption; they come forth into the
glory of the stars, and it says: "They who remain" — who are
they that remain? It tells us these are the exceptions, these who
go away with the devil and his angels and are called Sons of
Perdition, and they who remain shall also be quickened; but
they shall return to their own place, because they would not re-
ceive that which they might have had, but frittered away
their time and season for repentance, and they go away into
everlasting punishment with the devil and his angels. Read
section 29 of the Doctrine and Covenants, particularly verses
26-30; also 88: 32, 33.
"Well, now," say some persons, "won't they be redeemed
some time? How do you know?" Why the Lord does not tell
you and he says he will not do it. He says it is not revealed;
the height and the depth and the extent and the end thereof
is not revealed; so do not try to find out for yourselves, with-
out the Lord reveals something about it; and if he does, he will
not reveal it to you or me for the Church, but will reveal it
to us, if at all, for our own enlightenment. I know that the
Lord reveals things to men for their enlightenment and bless-
ing and comfort and qualification in times of stress and pain
and deliverance; he reveals things to them by the power of the
Spirit which searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God,
but when the Lord is going to reveal anything for the Church,
he will reveal it to the one man appointed for the purpose of
revealing something new to the Church.
Our Struggle is to Obtain Celestial Glory
Now, brethren, won't it be just as well to leave that alone?
Some of our brethren are so anxious regarding Lucifer: "Shall
not Lucifer be redeemed some time? Won't the time come
when he will repent?" If that time does come probably he
would be restored to something; but repentance does not come
to everybody. People sin away the time when they can repent
— they cannot be saved without it. Repentance is a principle
of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. Why are some folks
so anxious about that? Do any of our brothers and sisters
ever expect to struggle to get into the telestial kingdom? You
need not bother about that query. Do you expect to get into
the terrestrial? You need not bother about that. You are
674 IMPROVEMENT ERA
after the celestial kingdom; are we not all on the road, striving
to overcome our little infirmities and weaknesses of nature
inherited from our ancestors, and to overcome the world and
the devil, as well as the flesh? Are we not candidates for
the celestial glory? Certainly we are, and what we should be
anxious about is to perform our duty today, to be Latter-day
Saints in very deed; to serve the Lord, to keep his command-
ments and to remember the commandment of the Father:
"There is the Son hear Him." Listen to the voice of Jesus
Christ. That is the word of the Lord to us in these latter days,
for he is the revealer to us.
Now then, suppose these people sometime could repent,
what have you got to do with it? You take the New Testament
and read the last chapter in the gospel according to St. John,
and you will find a little account there of a colloquy between
Jesus and Peter. He told Peter to feed his sheep; then he told
him to feed his lambs, and then Peter turned around and said,
concerning John, "What shall this man do?" He said, "If I
will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" You
feed my sheep. That, I think, is a very good lesson for all of
us. What does it matter to us about Lucifer? What does it
matter to us whether the Sons of Perdition ever get redemption?
The Lord has not revealed it. and he says he does not reveal it
except to them who are made partakers thereof. Don't pre-
tend to know any more than your brethren on these matters.
I say unto you, whether Lucifer shall be redeemed, or these Sons
of Perdition be redeemed, what mattereth it to you? You
do your duty; you candidates for celestial glory, go on, con-
tinuing to serve the Lord, keep his commandments; do your
duty; if you are called upon to preach abroad — go out into the
world and preach — you cannot have a better occupation.
Sunset
When the day is ended and the calm of eventide
Falls o'er the earth, as we sit side by side;
Let us together see its glory full —
The sunset hour in vestments beautiful.
When the song is finished and the echoes die away,
Somewhere out yonder where the hills are gray ;
Let us together search the realms afar,
For angel harmonies beyond the evening star.
When Life's day closes; when the task is done;
When mine eyes are curtained from the setting sun,
Hold, love, my hand in the waning light.
While I whisper once more: "Goodnight!" — Goodnight!"
'Herald*' Lethbridge, Canada Frank C. Steele
An Unusual Accompaniment to a Baptism
By James E. Talmage, of the Council of the Twelve
During my eleventh year, in the Spring of 1873, I was
stricken with a severe illness; and, as my parents afterward in-
formed me, my life appeared to be near its close. My father as-
sociated this illness with the fact that my baptism into the
Church had been deferred beyond the time at which it should
have been attended to. At that time father was president of the
Hungerford and Ramsbury branch of the Church.
As father afterward told me, he made solemn covenant
with the Lord that if my life should be spared he would lose
no time in having me baptized after my recovery. We were
then living at Eddington, a suburb of Hungerford, Berkshire,
England. Our house was within a stone's throw of one end of
the great bridge that spans the Kennet River, an important trib-
utary of the Thames. A mill race paralleled the river for a
quarter of a mile or more, and between the two streams was
a roadway for pedestrians. Because of possible interference by
persecutors of the Latter-day Saints it was necessary that bap-
tisms be attended to only in the night-time.
Ellen Gilbert, also in the eleventh year of her age, a
faithful daughter of a devoted mother, was to be baptized at
the same time. Ellen Gilbert's brother, Elijah, was then a
deacon in the branch. Ellen Gilbert, now Mrs. Andrew L.
Hyer, is living at Lewiston, Cache County, Utah, and her
brother, Elder Elijah, Gilbert, is at present a resident of Fair-
view, Idaho. I well remember the circumstances of the double
baptism, and of the particular incident connected therewith.
On June 15, 1873, my father and Elijah Gilbert left our
house shortly before midnight, traversed the Kennet bridge
back and forth, looked around the neighborhood, and returned
to the house telling us that all seemed clear, and that Ellen and
I were to prepare to enter the water. In the interest of caution
they went out once more, and returned with the same report.
Ellen and I accompanied father and Brother Elijah to the place
selected in the mill race for our immersion.
I was to be baptized first. As father stood in the water
and took my hand, I being on the bank with Ellen and her
brother, we were veritably horror-stricken by a combined shriek,
yell, scream, howl — I know not how to describe the awful
noise — such as none of us had ever heard. It seemed to be a
combination of every fiendish ejaculation we could conceive
of. I remember how I trembled at the awful manifestation,
676 IMPROVEMENT ERA
which had about it the sharpness and volume of a thunderclap
followed by an angry roar, which died away as a hopeless
groan.
The fearsome sound seemed to come from a point not
more than fifty yards from us, near the end of the great bridge.
The night was one of bright starlight, and we could have
seen anyone on the bridge, which was built of white stone with
low walls. Elijah Gilbert, with courage unusual for so young
a man, started to investigate, but father called him back.
Father, who was also trembling, as were the others, then asked
me if I was too frightened to be baptized; I was too much ter-
rified to speak, so I answered by stepping into the water. I
was baptized, and Ellen Gilbert was baptized immediately after-
ward.
As we started back to the house, not more than three hun-
dred yards from the spot at which we had been immersed,
father and Elijah went toward the bridge, surveyed the im-
mediate vicinity, but failed to find any person abroad besides
ourselves.
The affrighting noise had sounded to us as loud enough to
be heard over a great area; but none except ourselves seemed
to have heard it, as not even a window was opened by anybody
in the neighborhood, and no mention or inquiry concerning
the matter was later made by others. Neighborly gossip was
quite the order of the time; and, surely, if that blood-curdling
shriek had been heard by others than ourselves it would have
been the subject of talk for many a day.
But we heard it, as we shall never forget.
Sister Ellen, Brother Elijah and I have spoken together
on the matter as we have occasionally met. . On January 20, 1912,
I was a visitor at the home of Bishop and Sister Hyer, in Lewis-
ton, Utah; and when mention was made of the unusual inci-
dent associated with our baptisms, I requested Sister Hyer to
relate in detail the circumstance as she remembered it, for I
had often wondered whether the distance of time had in any
way distorted my view and rendered my remembrance inac-
curate. I was struck by the strict agreement, even as to minute
detail, between her recital and my recollection. On July 20,
1919, I was again in the home of Sister Hyer and made a sim-
ilar request; but Sister Hyer wisely suggested that as her brother
Elijah was present he should be the one to tell the story. This
he did, and his account agreed with our remembrance in all
details.
We know that the foregoing account, entitled, "An Unusual Accom-
paniment to a Baptism" is correct and true in all particulars.
Signed at Fairview, Idaho, April 23, 1922, Mrs. Ellen Gilbert Hyer.
Signed at Fairview, Idaho, April 23, 1922, Elijah Gilbert.
Signed at Salt Lake City, April 25, 1922, James E. Tatmage.
Who Shall Have the Desert?
Origin of the Controversy over South American Nitrate Lands
By J. M. Jensen, A. M.
Comparatively recent press dispatches tell us that Bolivia
has a grievance against Chile, and also that Peru has a contro-
versy with the shoe string country. It has been proposed that
the first of these difficulties be adjudicated by the League of
Nations Council, and now comes the suggestion that the sec-
ond be submitted to arbitration at Washington. But the exact
nature of the controversies is not made clear; in fact the parties
thereto, themselves, appear to be at divergence as to what shall
be arbitrated. This much, however, is apparent that both dis-
putes involve the rights of the respective countries in the prov-
inces of Tacua and Arica and the Desert of Atacama, and are
of long standing.
If you will look at a map of South America of the seventies
or early eighties of the Nineteenth Century, you will see that
Peru has a tail hanging down the Pacific coast to 22 degrees
south latitude, and that Bolivia has a coast line from the tip
of the Peruvian tail to 24 degrees south latitude, through
which, of course, passes the Tropic of Capricorn. South of the
Bolivian coast territory comes Chile.
Now, if you will glance at a map of South America of the
present time, you will find that the Bolivian coast line has dis-
appeared, that the Peruvian tail has been amputated, and that
the Chilean shoe string has been stretched to the north more
than four hundred miles.
The change involves a story of national greed, cruel war-
fare, and consequent misery and suffering.
Before 1840, the region in question was looked upon as a
stretch of worthless desert, but the discovery, in that year, of
guano and nitrate deposits in southern Peru brought wealth
to that country, and helped Ramon Castilla, the Porfirio Diaz of
Peru, to restore the bankrupt nation to solvency. Steam ves-
sels were added to the navy; and improvements were made at
Lima and other parts of the country.
The new prosperity brought immigrants, among them a
number of Basques from Spain. In some trouble that ensued
in the early sixties, a number of these people were killed, and
678 IMPROVEMENT ERA
somehow the criminals managed to escape punishment. Spain
demanded $3,000,000 indemnity for her murdered subjects,
which was refused, and the Chincha guano islands were seized
by her. Peru, alone, was unable successfully to cope with
Spain, and, after some delay, Chile, realizing a common danger,
temporarily set aside the covetous feeling she had had for
the nitrate and guano fields of the desert and came to the
rescue. In 1866 the two countries gained a victory over
Spain.
With Spain driven back and the danger over the cupidity
of the Chileans became manifest. Of the 350 miles of nitrate
coast, Peru had the northern 150 miles. Prior to 1866 Bolivia
claimed the remainder. The boundary line between Bolivia
and Chile, however, was not definite. There had been no
urgent necessity for making it so before the discovery of nitrate.
After the finding of the mineral and the development of the
great demand for it as a fertilizer, the energetic Chileans
crowded up the coast. In 1866 a treaty was effected between
Chile and Bolivia, fixing the 24th degree of latitude as the
boundary between the two countries, but Chilean miners were
allowed to continue operations north of that line. Taxes were
paid to Bolivia for the privilege, but it was agreed that Bolivia
should not raise these taxes without Chile's consent. As nitrate,
silver and copper mining became more profitable, the Bolivian
government pressed harder for larger revenue.
Peru had planned to secure control by state purchase and
operation of the nitrate properties within her borders, and by
monopolistic methods, acquire great wealth therefrom. In this
scheme Peru desired the aid of Bolivia, for the monopoly
could hardly be made successful without her help inasmuch
as she had such a large section of nitrate country. To ac-
complish the purpose, it would be necessary for Bolivia to
have a free hand in taxing the Chilean operating companies.
In 1873 Peru and Bolivia entered into a secret alliance with
monopolistic intent in the nitrate fields. The treaty soon be-
came public and Chile naturally believed it was aimed at her
miners. She began purchasing iron clads. But Peru had had
several corrupt administrations, and had squandered too much
money; she was too poor to buy iron clads.
Hostilities commenced in 1879. On account of the deep
ravines running at right angles to the coast and the general
rough character of the country, Peru could be attacked only
from the sea. The first conflicts were therefore on the water.
The new ships purchased by Chile gave her an advantage, but
Peru made a stubborn and heroic resistance, and it took some
WHO SHALL HAVE THE DESERT? 679
time to destroy the Peruvian vessels. The whole world was
greatly interested, not alone as to the results of the struggle,
but as to the effectiveness of the ships of war; it was the first
naval engagement between modern iron clads.
After the destruction of the Peruvian naval power, Chile
determined to make an attack on the nitrate fields of southern
Peru. They were courageously defended by the Peruvians, but
the superior guns and abundance of munitions of the Chileans
told in their favor, and the fields were captured. The Peruvian
president, Prado, sailed for Europe stating that he was going
to buy war ships, but the ships never came. After he had gone
the seriousness of the situation was made greater for the Peru-
vians by revolution.
An effort was made by the United States to bring about
peace. Representatives of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile were brought
aboard the American corvette, Lackawanna^ for conference.
The Chilean demand was heavy: retention of Tarapaca (which
had been captured) ; a payment to Chile of twenty million
dollars; abrogation of the treaty of 1873; new fortification by
Peru of Arica ; and the retention of Tacna, Arica, and Moquegua,
pending settlement. The Peruvians met these demands by
showing that they rested on the right of annexation by con-
quest without regard to equity, a principle foreign to Spanish
America. As a counter proposal arbitration was suggested.
This was refused.
Hostilities were resumed. Callao was taken, and Lima was
compelled to surrender. The Peruvians still kept three small
armies in the field. They were in the interior, one in the
north, one in the center, and the third in the south, but all
were ineffective. The Chileans were charged with great cruelties
against the people, among their practices being that of quintar,
or lining up a large number of men and killing every fifth
one.
After more than two years of desultory warfare, General
Iglesias, in command of one of the three armies, concluded that
the only course was to surrender and accede to the Chilean
terms. He was opposed by the other generals, but their op-
position was crushed. The treaty of peace was signed October
20, 1883, after more than four years of warfare. Tarapaca and
its nitrates were ceded unconditionally and permanently to
Chile. Tacna and Arica were to be held by Chile for ten
years, at the end of which period a popular vote should de-
termine to which country the provinces should permanently be-
long, a payment of ten million dollars to be made by the
country which should retain them. This last question has never
680 IMPROVEMENT ERA
been solved, the two countries being unable to agree on the
terms of the proposed plebiscite.
Should the case of the contending countries be heard at
Washington, Chile will probably insist that there is nothing to
discuss except the terms of the plebiscite, while Peru will ask
that the treaty of 1883 be set aside as unjust. Bolivia is de-
sirous of having an access to the sea and some other concessions,
not clearly defined.
In these controversies, Chile, having the prestige of pos-
session, and being the stronger military and naval power, bids
fair, in one or another, to maintain both her position and her
possessions.
Provo, Utah, Brigliam Young University.
The Shield
"We have three new arrivals."
It was the Mission Secretary who spoke. He led the way
into the parlor of the mission home where I was introduced to
three young men whost bright eyes, ruddy cheeks, and healthy
bodies, gave eloquent witness of wholesome living and upright
lives.
After I had become acquainted, I commenced to quiz them
in a kindly and confidential way about their knowledge of the
gospel, Church experience, and general education. Finally, I
came to their personal habits. I turned to one whose clear,
pink skin was proof positive of clean blood underneath, and
asked :
"Did you ever smoke cigarettes?"
"I never tasted tobacco," came the manly reply.
I paused for a moment to soliloquize. Is it possible, I
thought, that a young man has actually grown to maturity in
this age of drugs and narcotics without trying to smoke? I
looked at him with the eager interest of one who beholds for the
first time an extraordinary person.
And he is an extraordinary person. By living faith in
God's solemn declaration, "Tobacco is not good for man," he
had attained to manhood's full estate with strong sinews, clean
blood, steady nerves, clean mind, and splendid Godlike will-
power.— Nephi Jensen, President of the Canadian Mission.
Parting Friends
(Duet)
Words and Music by Evan Stephens.
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Divine Discontent"
By Parley A. Christensen, Professor of English^ Brigham Young College
As Latter-day Saints we are always eager to expound the
principle of eternal progression. We are justly proud of the
conception, for it is a sublime one. It seems to us a vitally
necessary thought in any philosophy which would give meaning
and purpose to our existence. Unfortunately, in the warp and
woof of this doctrine there resides something which, when
wrongly conceived, tends to lull some of us into a dangerous
repose. Subscribing to the idea of eternal progress, we find it
easy very early in life to leave the entire matter of progress to
eternity. Infinity offers ample time for the tasks of personal
improvement; besides it seems fitting that a process of such
epic scope as limitless advancement should be associated in our
minds with a setting not less impressive than eternity itself. And
somehow it is only by a cruel twist of our sensibilities that eter-
nity can be made to have any tangible connection with the pres-
ent. Like the desert mirage it maintains in our thinking an
unvarying remoteness. We, accordingly, find ourselves not
easily disturbed by the restless teachers of practical theology
who insist that it is out of the simple experiences of this work-
a-day world that the subtle changes are made which measure
our advance toward the objectives of the life hereafter.
If we are to avoid the tragedy of waste, which is the un-
failing companion of inertia, we must in some way be jerked
into a consciousness of the bearing of the present on the fu-
ture; we must indeed be made to "catch the future in the in-
stant." If our doctrine of eternal progression is to have any
value, aside from its use as a fundamental truth in our re-
ligious speculations, it must be made to touch very intimately
the here and now. It must be expounded in terms of what we
know, in terms of what we do as citizens and neighbors,
in terms of the books and pictures we enjoy, the records
we buy, and the tunes we whistle. It must, in other words, be
expounded in terms of increasing knowledge, and changing at-
titudes and appreciations. It must gently but persistently urge
us to get away from ourselves as we are and seek ourselves as
we ought to be. It must arouse in us that condition which
George Herbert Palmer had in mind when he said, "For in the
lives of us all there should be a divine discontent — not devilish
688 IMPROVEMENT ERA
discontent, but divine discontent — a consciousness that life may
be larger than we have yet attained, that we are to press be-
yond what we have reached, that joy lies in the future, in that
which has not been found, rather than in the realized present."
The organization in the Church best fitted to stimulate a
wholesome discontent is the Mutual Improvement Association.
By its title it is dedicated to the task of arousing its members
to a common betterment. This organization, if it is functioning,
is helping men and women to understand how much more the
gospel comprehends than a knowledge of the Ten Command-
ments, the Articles of Faith, and the Word of Wisdom. These
are, of course, fundamental as guide posts in the way of life,
but the way of life not the guide posts, is the vital thing. There
is, perhaps, nothing more disconcerting to the alert young Lat-
ter-day Saint, eager and confident in his quest for learning, than
to find his mature brethren and sisters enjoying a kind of smug
complacency in the belief that all that is important in the life
of the soul is a knowledge of what the Lord has revealed. Noth-
ing could be further from the purposes of the Creator, and noth-
ing could be more fatal to effort than the idea that all the fine
things of the mind and heart come as gifts. The gospel clearly
enjoins us to strive after truth. "If there is anything virtuous,
lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these
things." They do not come to us as divine gifts. They are the
divine rewards of our striving. This means that we must some-
how catch that discontent which impels men and women to rise
above themselves to the mors excellent things that await them.
It means that we must keep our minds open, observe carefully,
and read studiously; it means that we must rise slowly but
surely in appreciation to the levels of the best in the thought,
the literature, the music and the art of the world.
The unhappy Guinevere, reviewing in solitude the tragic
errors of her life, cries out with a new understanding:
What might I not have made of thy fair world,
Had I but loved thy highest creature here?
It was my duty to have loved the highest;
It surely was my profit had I known;
It would have been my pleasure had I seen.
We needs must love the highest when we see it.
Is it not our profit pleasure, and duty to love the highest
in all things? It is a long road from Harold Bell Wright to
Victor Hugo, but duty calls to the journey, and the way is made
delightful with a compensating exaltation. Having once lived
and suffered with Jean Valjean, we can never again accept
"Patches" as a definition of a man. We have gained a new
DIVINE DISCONTENT 6M
perspective, and have searched the human heart with a deeper
insight. We have progressed, and we can never go back to our
former selves. It is a far cry from tom-toms to the music of
the spheres, and the popular music of recent years shows how
little many of us have outgrown the tom-toms. But here again
our reach should exceed our grasp. We are not ready for the
divine symphonies, but we should in music live with the things
that lift us. If we hear the music that is lovely until our spirits
catch the complex rythms and tenuous harmonies, we shall never
again be set a-capering by the primitive appeal of laughing
trombones and sobbing saxaphones.
And so it is in the growth of all excellent attitudes and
appreciations. If we feel the impetus of a divine discontent;
if we, as a matter of duty, intelligently seek the things that
are highest, we shall find in ourselves illimitable capacities for
personal enlargement; and the result will be that for us the
principle of eternal progress shall have a new and practical sig-
nificance.
Logan, Utah
If Only You'd Play With Me
(Theme — "Wlien You and I were Young, Maggie.")
The days must be far away, Daddy,
Ever so far away,
Since you were a boy like me, Daddy,
And knew what it was to play.
There's grey in the strands of your hair, Daddy,
And sometimes it makes me blue,
To see the lines in your face, Daddy,
That won't let the smiles come through.
Sometimes I'm worried and blue, Daddy,
Wondering all the day,
Whatever a lad might do, Daddy,
To make you fond of my play;
I love the cling of your hand, Daddy,
It's sunny whenever you smile,
And if only you'd join in the games, Daddy,
The day would be one glad while.
Sometimes the games go wrong, Daddy,
That's when the boys aren't square,
And if only you were along, Daddy,
Things would be fine and fair;
If I could be big like you, Daddy,
And you were a tad like me,
I'd stand by and fight for you, Daddy,
Then maybe you'd play with me.
Mesa, Arizona Bertha A. Kleinm :n
Life is What We Make It
By Thomas L. Martin, Dept. uj Agriculture, Brighum Young University
III— Which Are You?
The people were all assembled. It was a great day in
Israel. At last the Lord had said: "You shall have a king."
Never before had there been such keen anticipation as prevailed
on this coronation day. Samuel, the prophet of the Lord,
was ready to proclaim Saul, King of Israel. "Where is he?"
came the cry. When inquiry was made the answer came, "Be-
hold, he hath hid himself among the stuff." "They ran and
fetched him thence and when he stood among the people he
was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and up-
wards." Yet, this great, big, physical man when responsibility
was placed upon him to serve his people, shrank from the task,
afraid of his job. He proved himself a man not equal to his
calling. It became necessary for the Lord to reject him.
David was not nearly so large phvsically as was Saul, but
when called upon to prepare himself to be the leader of IsraeLhe
demonstrated that he was the man. All Israel trembled at the
approach of the giant Goliath, but David said to Saul, "Let no
mans heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight
the Philistine." David showed such a spirit throughout his life.
"He went on and grew great and the Lord God of Hosts was
with him." He enlarged the boundaries of Israel to the limits
promised by the Lord. He was loved by all; a real leader, a
man who lifted the people to a level never before known in
Israel. David was a lifter, Saul a leaner. Which are you?
In every community we find a few who say, "We must
comfort the hearts of the sick and the needy. We must call for
donations to provide a celebration in order that all people
may be happy. We must find ways and moans to alleviate suf-
fering." These few actually do these things. In every com-
munity there are those who say, "Let well enough alone. If the
man is sick, let him look after his own affairs. If I am sick
no one will take care of me. If we have a celebration it means
that I must donate. Why can't the people mind their own bus-
• O))
iness r
Such an attitude is characteristic of the cockle-burr plant.
Sharp spines protrude from their bodies; the environment is
LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT 691
very unpleasant for the seeking of the honey bee and the brows-
ing of the cattle; an environment that wounds and spreads
gloom; it asks no favors and gives none; the clammy sort of
person that lives in this shell and radiates gloom to those about
him. This is the type of man that is responsible for much of
the misery in the world at the present time. The constant war
and turmoil, suspicion, selfishness, distrust, and innocent suf-
fering. All because of this kind of man. Which would we
rather be, the man of service, or the man of selfishness? Which
are you?
Young people, we are in the making. Shall we push the
walls that crowd us in? Shall we stretch our arms, gaze on our
strength, feel it surge through our bodies with its accompanying
sensation that we are placed upon the earth not to be subdued
by it but to make it serve us to the glory of its Maker? Surely
his is our only choice, surely we shall become Davids and be
real lifters, and not leaners. The poet says:
There are two kinds of people on earth today,
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say.
Not the sinner and saint, for 'tis well understood
The good are half bad and the bad are half good.
Not the rich and poor, for, to rate a man's wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.
Not the humble and proud, for in life's little span
Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.
Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.
No ! the two kinds of people on earth, I ween,
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.
Wherever you go, you wdl find the earth's masses
Are always divided in just these two classes.
And oddly enough you will find, too, I ween,
There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.
In which class are you? Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner who lets others share
Your portion of labor, and worry and care?
Which are we going to be? Shall we be happy? There
is but one choice. Life is what we make it. May we be counted
with the lifters.
Provo, Utah
Daddy Mine
Sit here, young man, and you, sweet girl, sit here,
The sun is sinking, and the sky is blue,
And just here, asleep in straying sunbeams,
Is a picture I wish to show to you.
Look closely now, observe each careworn line!
The face though growing thin to us is fair,
And straying 'cross the broad and noble brow
Are locks of thin and plainly whitening hair.
Come, clasp this dear old hand that?s lying here,
And hold it tenderly within your own;
Once like yours, 'twas soft and white and shapely,
But through the years has hard and calloused grown.
This finger has a knuckle bent and stiff;
This scar tells of a wound that has been made,
The finger nail from here was torn away,
In all the years it failed to reappear.
To you, his grown up daughter and his son,
I wish to make this statement, sad but true,
These calloused spots these scars and all these wounds,
Are traces of the blows he took for yo*.
You often asked for favor», did you not?
To grant you these he wwidered what to do;
But he seldom left your wants unanswered,
Though you scarce knew his sacrifice for you.
You thanked him, did you, told him you were glad?
You paused to kiss his tired face those days?
No? For Daddy knew that you were grateful
And didn't care for sentiment and praise?
You didn't see the longing look he gave,
Nor noticed yet the quiver of his lips,
The drooping of his over-burdened frame,
As once again the toils of day he grips.
He didn't mind the calloused hands, the scars,
Hard labor of his life was then a part;
But often-times, I know, your thoughtlessness
Has made some calloused spots upon his heart.
You didn't mean to be unkind, I know,
You hadn't seen those dear eyes light with joy,
As words of gratitude, acts of kindness,
Chanced reaching him from grown up girl or boy.
You cannot bring him gems nor costly gifts;
But of the love you each possess in store
In rich abundance, feed his starving soul;
Your Daddy, I am sure, will crave no more.
As years pass and you follow in his path,
I hope that you will often pray, and thus:
"Father in Heaven, make us twice wor'hy
Of blows our earthly father took for us."
Honeyville, Utah Florence L. Chidester
Tobacco and a Sick World
By Will H. Brown
Sensible men and women should not be satisfied with sur-
face facts, in the study of a problem. When we are told that
tuberculosis, lung and bronchial trouble, paralysis, apoplexy,
heart disease, hardening of the arteries, catarrh, etc., are on the
increase, in this, the supposedly most advanced age in medical
science, in the history of the world, we should emphatically ask
why? It is due to something. It doesn't just happen that
these ailments jump on to a person here and there.
When we unflinchingly face facts, we find that the wide-
spread and rapidly increaeing use of tobacco among practi
cally all races and classes, is responsible for much of the sick
ness now prevailing throughout the world. In addition to ill
ness, many men, apparently well, often have no reserve force
At the last annual convention of the American Physical Edu
cation Association, one of the national officers said: "Thirty
million American wage earners lose an average of nine days
a year because of illness, entailing a loss of $675,000,000 in
wages, with a cost of $180,000,000 for medical aid."
Every disease due to or aggravated by tobacco is prevent-
able— simply by leaving the weed alone. Professor William H.
Greer, Director of Physical Education in Harvard University,
makes this statement: "The loss from earnings cut off by pre-
ventable disease and premature death amounts to $1,500,000,-
000 annually."
[Practically every physician of note who has studied the sub-
ject declares tuberculosis may be brought on or intensified by
smoking, especially by inhaling, as is done by nearly every
user of cigarettes in all countries. Henry P. Davison, New
York banker, and head of the American Red Cross, says: "The
great white plague is now spreading over the world with light-
ning rapidity."
Why an increase in heart disease? Why so many sudden
deaths of men apparently well? Dr. Matthew Woods, of Phil-
adelphia, declares: "We positively know that tobacco causes
heart disease, and that it diminishes the possibility of recov-
ery from any disease." Professor William McKeeverr, of the
University of Kansas faculty, after making hundreds of tests
694 IMPROVEMENT ERA
#
with the Sphygmograph — an instrument adjusted at the radial
artery and recording the comparative strength, regularity and
nervousness of heart beats — says: "The habitual cigarette
smoker's heart is very weak and feeble, except for the few min-
utes he is indulging the habit, when the pulsations are unduly
excited."
Why so many persons stricken with paralysis? Prof. M.
E. Mclndoo, of the Bureau of Entomology of the United States
Department of Agriculture, making many tests with nicotine
as a poison for killing insects, has proved conclusively that it
kills by paralyzing. From this Robert Sparks Walker, in a
magazine article, reasons: "Will not future investigation re-
veal the fact that the use of tobacco is directly responsible for
much of the paralysis that attacks the human family?"
Why so many tens of thousands of men afllicted with arteri-
osclerosis? Dr. Chas. L. Hamilton, of Ontario, answers this
question: "In men of 35, who are tobacco users, we find as
much hardening of the arteries as is normally found in men
of 70." In other words, habitual tobacco users, at thirty-five,
are as old as they should be at seventy. And catarrh? Dr.
John B. Huber says: "Tobacco induces catarrh of the nose
and throat — and no catarrh, from whatever cause, is curable in
a smoker."
Yes, our old world is very sick — and we have seen that
much of the illness is preventable, by following this simple
remedy: Cut out tobacco, the weed that poisons, undermines,
destroys.
Oakland, Cat.
Just Try
The world's greatest poems have ne'er been written ;
The greatest songs are still unsung.
The world's greatest sons are not all risen;
The greatest deeds are yet undone:
Then try.
The world's greatest speeches are still unmade;
The greatest races yet un-run.
The greatest corner stones have ne'er been laid;
The greatest victories not yet won:
Then try.
The world's greatest thoughts are still unspoken;
The greatest books are not all read.
The vast silences lie still unbroken;
The sun shines still upon thy head:
Just try.
Kimberly, Idaho Leslie L. Sudweeks
Irrigation and Soil
By J E. Greaves, Cliemist, Utah Agricultural Experiment Staiion
III — Is Irrigation Water Increasing the Fertility of Your Soil?
The Valley of the Nile has become famous in irrigation
history, not because it was among the first irrigated districts of
the world, but due to its extremely fertile fields, the fertility
of which has been maintained through the ages. Other soils
just as fertile have become barren, but the Valley of the Nile
continues fertile through the waters which are continually carry-
ing rich deposits of silt to it each year. Hence we find that a
soil's fertility may increase and not decrease due to the irri-
gation water applied to it. Is your soil gaining or losing in
plant food due to the water applied? The answer to this ques-
tion will be determined by the nature of the water applied and
the knowledge of the farmer applying it.
If the quantity of irrigation water used is large there is a
constant drainage through the soil, the probable effect of which
would be the carrying out of certain soluble constituents.
Whether this is greater or less than that brought to the soil
will vary, depending upon the composition of the water, nature
of the soil, and the quantity of drainage. On the other hand,
when water is added in moderation nothing is carried from the
soil; moreover, the water applied to the soil evaporates and
deposits within the soil its soluble and insoluble plant food.
Now let us examine some of the results which have been
obtained during the last few years at the Utah Experiment
Station, in a study of the irrigation waters of the intermountain
region, bearing in mind that the constituents which are most
usually lacking in soils are potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen.
During 1916-17 the Chemistry Department of the Utah Ag-
ricultural College collected hundreds of samples of water, repre-
senting fifty-eight streams, the majority of which are extensively
used for irrigation purposes. These waters vary in potassium
content from 49 parts per million to only .79 parts per million.
Slightly over one-half of the waters contained five parts per
million. The importance of these results becomes more obvious
when we examine the pounds of potassium carried to an acre of
soil by two acre-feet of water. This varies from 266.6 pounds,
in the case of the highest, to 4.4 pounds, in the case of the
696 IMPROVEMENT ERA
lowest, with an average potassium content of 33.4 pounds per
acre.
These results are not without economic significance, for
the potassium in highest would be sufficient to produce 370
bushels of corn, 230 bushels of wheat, or 34 tons of sugar-beets.
The average for the streams is sufficient to produce 47 bushels
of corn, 29 bushels of wheat, or 4 tons of sugar-beets.
Many of the soils of the intermountain region are rich in
potassium; hence, this element is not as important as is phos-
phorus, which, although used by the crop in smaller quantities,
is nevertheless at times the limiting factor in crop production.
The total phosphorus of the irrigation waters analyzed
varied from traces to 5.47 parts per million. The great majority
of them, however, contained less than one part per million.
The average in two acre-feet of the streams was 3.46 pounds,
for the wells 3.36 pounds, and for the drains 1.82 pounds.
The phosphorus in two acre-feet of the water from the
richest stream is sufficient for the production of 175 bushels
of corn, 120 bushels of wheat, or 33 tons of sugar-beets. In the
case of all the other streams, while not as high, it undoubtedly
plays a part in maintaining the phosphorus content of the
soil.
Even more important than the phosphorus is the nitrogen
of the waters, for nitrogen is the limiting factor of crop pro-
duction in most of the soils of the intermountain region. This
varies from traces up to 24.3 parts per million. The average
quantity of nitrogen in two acre-feet of the irrigation is 22.8
pounds, while that in the highest is 132.2 pounds per acre. This
would be sufficient to produce 186 bushels of corn, 114 bushels
of wheat, or 17 tons of sugar-beets.
These results probably help to explain the remarkable
fertility of many of the irrigated soils of the arid regions.
Some of them have been producing crops undiminished in
quantity for upward of fifty years, and there is no reason why
a limited few soils on which the richer irrigation waters are
being used cannot continue for another fifty or one hundred
years to produce maximum crops.
Greed
To be always getting and hoarding and planning,
A way to grasp more with eyes never scanning
The day to perceive another's dire need,
Doth fill well the mouth of insatiable greed.
To be always getting and never once giving.
Ah me! such a life would not be worth living;
But like unto some stagnant pool must appear
With depths growing deadlier year after year.
Grace Ingles Frost
The Glory of the Foot-Hills
By Claudia May Ferrin
With the lengthening of the shadows came the happy flurry
of the customary tramp along the trail. Nate's day was done;
and Allie Barden, glad of a respite from the heat of the kitchen,
skipped past the crude piazza where lounged her father and
the two or three boarders, with their outfits and reminiscences.
On down the path through the miniature orchard, dotted with
mountain hemlock and clumps of huckleberry; on past the
hedge, another tok,en of her father's ambition. Presently she
spied a gleaming straw hat — broad-brimmed, fresh, of the kind
that spring from the village store, Nate's one great purchase
each year. Her own, worn at mother's bidding, swung back
full weight against the ribbons tied under her throat. A low
call, and the former began a hurried bobbing in her direction.
"I've waited such a long while, Allie." He kissed her awk-
wardly. But she liked it, blushing a deep crimson.
"Ten minutes?" she rejoined. "You're such a patient
chap!"
"Don't start a purty little scoldin', now. There's our other —
the real price of waitin' we've got to do. When d'you s'pose
that'll end?"
They gazed off toward the western slope, beyond which the
sun's rays were beginning to glimmer into color and uncer-
tainty. The hill-side lay a green-black beneath; under that
the darkness of the scrub forestry of the valley. An occasional
light reminded them of their neighbors' existence. Down the
valley could be seen, by stepping closer to the brink, the cluster
that marked the village of miners' cabins.
"Any mail?" It was her usual query. She took mechani-
cally the fruit-culture magazine he handed over, tucking it into
her belt. The periodical was an especial treasure of Sim Bar-
den's, by which he planted, grafted and pruned.
"The cannon-ball will be along, soon. I can't ever wait,
somehow, till that comes by — to see if there's anything more.
We'd lose nearly two hours."
Half way up the slope opposite — easily seen as yet —
gleamed the thread-like trail the railway had cut, when they
were but children. The passing trains held a charm the two
could not outgrow.
698 IMPROVEMENT ERA
"You are early, remember. It'll be a half-hour, if not
longer."
"What of that? Let's walk down a ways, where we can
see better. The lights'll show up big this evenin'."
Their eyes fixed on the spur-hills and the sunset sky above,
the two proceeded leisurely enough. But they had not quite
reached the road leading over the tiny stream, when a cloud of
dust on the hillside caused them to start in alarm. A heavy
rock had become loosened, rolling directly into the railway
track.
"The flyer!" they cried. "It is time, almost. What can we
do?"
"Let's run, anyhow." They planned, breathless from haste,
as they rushed wildly on — over the valley trail, across the rocky
bed of the stream. "You go up the track an' signal the train,"
gasped Nate. "Here's a box of safeties — an' my hat! Burn it,
burn that paper of your dad's — make a good strong light. I'll
go the other way an' make the village quick as I can, so's they
can telegraph."
The limited, with every passenger and official in the height
of excitement, came to a dead stop an eighth of a mile away.
Allie, ready to faint from the strain, had burned both hats and
the treasured magazine in her frantic effort to keep up the
signal.
Two hours later the wrecking train had ousted the impedi-
ment and was making for the village siding. Nate and Allie,
their own best secret a common one, had been handed the
customary purse by way of a wedding gift. Through the dark-
ness they hastened back to the cabin, to apprise Sim Barden —
of the destruction of his magazine.
Up the slope, at the spot whence the stone had broken away,
a clump of men had awaited the crash. They slunk away like
beasts of prey — wrangling, vengeful, out-done.
Boston, Mass.
The Greatest Blessing to a Man
What is the greatest blessing to a man? The full answer
to the question in its larger sense may read : The transcendently
superlative blessing to a man is the love of a good woman, whose
wifely, affectionate companionship, enables him to win out and
go on; bearing and participating with him in his joys, sorrows,
reverses and successes, in the vicissitudes of their travels along
the ever-extending pathway of life; while the glory of father-
hood and motherhood continues with them throughout the
eons of eternity. — E. H. Lund.
The Agriculture of the American Indian
By Vernal Willie
[This article deals with the agriculture of the American Indians, at
the time America was discovered, and is the result of considerable research
work by the author, on this subject. For most people, Indians are not
usually associated with agriculture, and it is, therefore, a subject that one
might well be interested in knowing more about, particularly since the
culture of the white man has replaced that of the Indian; and, in many
cases, the new culture has not been as good as the old. We believe this
comparatively new subject will prove very interesting to many people.
The author is a Senior student in the Agricultural College of Utah, and
graduates this spring — Editors.]
The food supply of a nation is one of the first things to
consider in the study of the people of that nation when we
realize that the commonest and strongest of human traits are
those having to do with food.
It is a common tendency among the several groups of man-
kind to specialize in some one kind of food, which becomes
the stable, or main, support, to be supplemented by other foods
when opportunity permits. Even the very complex cultures of
today have not fully overcome this disposition, as shown by the
great demand for beef, bread, and rice. This specialization is
uniformly distributed over a considerable area. It is because
of this that we are able to divide the new world into separate,
distinct food areas, at the time the first Europeans came to this
country.
Beginning with North America we have a large extent of
territory in northern Canada, which is the natural range of the
caribou, or American reindeer, whose flesh was the main sup-
port of the aboriginal populations. Sea mammals were also
extensively used, but the caribou was absolutely indispensable
to their existence, not so much for food as for winter clothing.
The failure of the caribou in any one locality for even one
season would spell disaster. In southern Canada the moose
and other deer were also available; and in the far north, the
musk-ox; wood bison were also found in a few localities, and
hares and other small animals were eaten when needed. Their
lakes and rivers were also well stocked with fish and in season
by water fowl.
The method of hunting the caribou, by both the Eskimo
and the Indians was to drive or stampede them into artificial
700 IMPROVEMENT ERA
or natural lanes or defiles where the hunters are concealed.
Another form was to run them into deep water, where they
were at the mercy of the swift canoe-men. Snaring was also
highly developed, even the largest game heing caught in this
way. They used the harpoon, hooks, line and net in their
fishing.
The cache was an important invention of this area. The
name is usually applied to an elevated or subterranean enclosure
for storing dried or frozen meat. The hunters followed the
great herds of caribou over the plains, and the kill of each
day was dressed as quickly as possible and then cached, after
which the pursuit was again taken up.
Extending from central Canada on the North to New
Mexico on the South, covering the eastern part of Utah, and
extending to Nebraska on the East, was an inland area, not
as large, however, as the caribou area, in which bison or buf-
falo were the principal food. Elk were abundant and also
mountain sheep, and out on the plains antelope were to be
met, but these were obscured by the seething masses of bison,
encountered everywhere, summer or winter.
The methods of hunting bison were similar to those used
in hunting caribou. Before horses were introduced, small herds
were enticed or stampeded into enclosures where they were
shot down at will; at other times they were rounded up by sys-
tematic grass firing. In favorable times, the surplus meat was
dried and packed in bags.
It would be well here to note the manufacture of pemmican,
a process which was characteristic of this area. To make
pemmican, the dried meat of the buffalo was pounded fine
with stone hammers and packed in bags which were then
sealed with melted fat. A special variety of pemmican was
prepared by pulverizing wild cherries, pits and all, and mix-
ing with the pounded meat. When properly protected, pem-
mican will keep for many months, and being compact and
easily transported forms an exceedingly valuable food.
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in his sketches of Hunting
The Grizzly, has the following story to tell about the buffalo:
"My friend, Gen. W. H. Walker, of Virginia, had an experience in
the early '50's with buffaloes on the upper Arkansas river, which gives
some idea of their enormous numbers at that time. He was camped with
a scouting party on the banks of the river, and had gone out to try to
shoot some meat. There were many buffaloes in sight, scattered, accord-
ing to their custom, in large bands. When he was a mile or two away
from the river a dull roaring sound in the distance attracted his attention,
and he saw that a herd of buffalo far to the south, away from the river,
had been stampeded and was running his way. He knew that if he was
caught in the open by the stampeded herd his chance for life would be
AGRICULTURE OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 701
small, and at once ran for the river. By desperate efforts he reached the
breaks in the sheer banks just as the buffaloes reached them, and got
into a position of safety on the pinnacle of a little bluff. From this point
of vantage he could see the entire plain. To the very verge of the horizon
the brown masses of the buffalo bands showed through the dust clouds,
coming on with a thunderous roar like that of surf. Camp was a mile
away, and the stampede luckily passed to one side of it. Watching his
chance he finally dodged back to the tent, and all that afternoon watched
the immense masses of buffalo, as band after band tore to the brink of
the bluffs on one side, raced down them, rushed through the water, up
the bluffs on the other side, and again off over the plain, churning the
sandy, shallow stream into a ceaseless tumult. When darkness fell there
was no apparent decrease in the numbers that were passing, and all
through that night the continuous roar showed that the herds were still
threshing across the river. Towards dawn the suund at last ceased, and
General Walker arose somewhat irritated, as he had reckoned on killing
an ample supply of meat, and he supposed that there would be now no
bison left south of the river. To his astonishment, when he strolled up on
the bluffs and looked over the plain, it was still covered far and wide
with groups of buffalo, grazing quietly. Apparently there were as many
on that side as ever, in spite of the many scores of thousands that must
have crossed over the river during the stampede of the afternoon and
night. The barren-ground caribou is the only American animal which is
now ever seen in such enormous herds."
The next great hunting area is in South America. From
the interior of Argentina to the Horn we have an open country.
The fauna was not so rich but the guanaco were abundant. An-
other animal of economic importance was the rhea, or American
ostrich. The early accounts suggest that the original human
inhabitants of this area were a nomadic, hunting people, pri-
marily dependent upon the guanaco, which they pursued with
the bola and the lasso.
Although in these three great hunting areas the main food
was flesh, many vegetable products were used. Even in the
Arctic the Eskimo gathered berries and edible roots in sum-
mer. Cherry, plum, strawberry, and in arid portions the prickly
pear was abundant. Of roots there were several species, but
particularly the prairie turnip was used.
All the streams between San Francisco Bay, and Bering
Strait are visited by salmon. They ascend from the sea to
spawn, and are available to all the tribes, even those far inland.
The run occurs but once a year, and at this time they are taken
out in great numbers, to be dried and smoked. In the Colombia
Basin, the dried fish were afterwards pounded fine in mortars,
thus being reduced to a state not unlike pemmican. This pul-
verized food is carefully stored in baskets as the one chief re-
serve food supply of the year. Dried fish and berries were their
staples. Where available, a kind of clover was eaten green,
and the inner bark of the hemlock was worked up into a kind of
bread-like food.
702 IMPROVEMENT ERA
In southern California and eastward over to the Great
Basin was an area in which game animals were rare, and wild
seeds and acorns were chiefly used for food. The raw acorns
are not palatable for they contain a large amount of tannic
acid; however, this objection is eliminated by pounding the
kernels into flour and then leeching with hot water. In this
area fruits and berries were very rare.
The term "digger" was generally applied to the nations of
this area because of their persistent gathering of roots and
plants. Notwithstanding the popular idea of modern California
as an ideal habitat for us modern Americans, it must be re-
garded as rather unfavorable to the development of primitive
tribes, for while enough food could be found, it had to be
gathered in little bits.
Many of these Indians ate rodents, snakes, or insects. When
the Utah Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley the ground
was covered with millions of black crickets which the Indians
were harvesting for their winter food. The Indians made a
corral twelve or fifteen feet square, fenced about with sage
brush and greasewood, and with branches of the same drove
them into the enclosure. They then set fire to the brush fence,
and going amongst them drove them into the fire. Afterward
they took them up by the thousands, rubbed off their wings
and legs, and after two or three days separated the meat, which
was usually half an ounce to an ounce of fat to each cricket.
In the eastern half of the United States including a very
small section of Canada we have a distinct agricultural area.
The chief crop was maize which ranks high in excellence among
the world foods, and after the epoch-making discovery of
Columbus was quickly spread to other parts of the world.
In General Anthony Wayne's report to the Secretary of
War on his first trip into Ohio, in 1794, he says that he had
never beheld such immense fields of corn in any other part of
America. It is reported that more than four thousand acres
of standing corn was destroyed by Wayne's army between Fort
Defiance and the mouth of the Miami of the Lakes. After
the defeat of the Indians at Fallen Timbers, several days were
spent in destroying their crops. In 1790, twenty thousand
bushels of corn was seized and burned at the headwaters of
the Miami River.
No careful study of aboriginal varieties of maize has been
made, but the data at hand suggest that about all the distinct
kinds we are growing today on our farms were in existence by
1492, and that they existed side by side in the same fields.
The Indians dug up the ground with pointed and spade-
like tools. The hoe was universal in the eastern maize area..
AGRICULTURE OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 703
The agricultural pattern was to hoe up hills around the plants.
Maize, squashes, and beans were often put in the same hill.
Tobacco was planted in hills, and so were the sweet potatoes of
the South. Millet, gourds, and melons were also grown in
the same way. The first Atlantic colonists adopted the hoe pat-
tern of the natives, especially in the South, where to some extent
it still survives. The maize was planted with a forked stick and
cultivated with a bone hoe, the blade being made from the
shoulder bone of any large animal.
Artificial fertilization was practiced from Nova Scotia to
Chile. One method widely distributed was the placing of fish
in the maize hill. Of foods and dishes made with maize there
is a long list which is in the main the same as we ourselves use.
Of manufactured foods other than those made of maize,
maple sugar takes first place. Practically every essential detail
of the process now in use was developed by the Indians of this
area before 1492.
Another food deserving mention i* oil derived from hickory
and walnuts. This oil was characteristic of the South, and the
natives did a good business in supplying it to the colonists.
Wild fruits were abundant and many species were used.
Some of them planted and cared for extensive orchards of both
apples and peaches. Wayne in one of his early expeditions into
northern Ohio cut down several thousands of the peach and
apple trees belonging to the Indians.
One important characteristic of agriculture in this area is
that it was woman's work, the man being a hunter.
We now come to an area, extending from California on
the North to Chile on the South, including Mexico, Central
America, part of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in which agri-
culture was intensively practiced. Here work in the fields was
not regarded as woman's work exclusively, and here hunting
ceases to be an occupation. As may be anticipated, it is the
home of the most advanced Indian cultures.
Beginning with the North, we have the Pueblo-Dwelling
peoples of southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Besides maize, beans, melons, squashes, and sunflower seed were
the chief crops. In historic times, at least, onions and chile
peppers were favorite garden plants; and the following wild
plants were largely used: Pinon nut, mesquite, and suguaro.
Tobacco and cotton were cultivated. Game was rather scarce,
rabbits being the most numerous. Turkeys were domesticated.
Of prepared foods, the most unique is the piki maize bread,
made in thin, paper-like sheets.
In Central America, there were many fruits, many of which
are now cultivated by Europeans, as the mammae apple, the alii-
704 IMPROVEMENT ERA
gator pear, the cashew nut, together with the fleshy stalk of
its tree, also the tomato and pineapple.
In the Andean region of South America it is possible almost
at any point to shift from high to low valleys, thus quickly
passing through several varieties of climate, and by lateral
shifting to encounter deserts and the most well watered stretches
in succession. They raised maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes,
manioc, beans, tobacco, coca, and cotton. Salt was manu-
factured in favorable localities and formed an important article
of trade.
The beautiful valley, surrounding the holy city of the Inca
(Cuzco), was so supplied with a carefully worked-out and well-
distributed irrigation system, that even Pizarro's rude band of
destroyers were awed and astonished when they first beheld it.
Prescott thus describes, in an impressive way, the civiliza-
tion that Pizarro so rudely swept away:
"By a judicious system of canals and subterraneous aqueducts, the
waste places on the coast were refreshed by copious streams, clothing
them in fertility and beauty. Terraces were raised upon the steep sides
of the Cordillera, and, as the different elevations had the effect of a
difference of latitude, they exhibited in regular gradation, every variety
of vegetable form, from the stimulated growth of the tropics to the
temperate products of a northern clime. An industrious population settled
upon the lofty regions of the plateaus and towns and hamlets, clustering
amidst orchards and wide-spreading gardens, seemed suspended in the air
far above the ordinary elevation of the clouds. Intercourse was main-
tained between these numerous settlements by means of the great roads
which traversed the mountain passes, and opened an easy communication
between the capital and the remotest extremities of the Empire. The
soil, though rarely watered by the rains of heaven, was naturally rich,
and wherever it was refreshed with moisture, as on the margins of the
streams, it was enameled with the brightest verdure. The indus ry of
the inhabitants, moreover, had turned these streams to the best account,
and canals and aqueducts were crossing the lowlands in all directions,
and spreading over the country, like a vast network diffusing fertility
and beauty around them. The air was scented with the sweet odors of
flowers, and everywhere the eye was refreshed by the sight of orchards
laden with unknown fruits, and of fields waving with yellow grain, and
rich in luscious vegetables of every description that teem in the sunny
clime of the Equator. The Spaniards were among a people who had
carried the refinements of husbandry to a greater extent than any yet
found on the American continent. As far as the eye could see, the level
tract exhibited the show of a diligent and thrifty husbandry."
The art of irrigation was known from Arizona to Chile,
and in Peru was carried out on a scale scarcely equalled by
modern nations. The remains of acqueduct systems in the
Andes show such genius and organization that our respect for
the native American rises to a high point.
In the eastern regions of America crops grew without water-
ing, but in the West and Southwest the soil was arid, and irri-
gation was necessary; hence, there are found remnants of ex-
AGRICULTURE OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 705
tensive irrigation canals built to bring rivers out on the dry
land. There are indications of them along the fertile bottoms
of the Colorado river in Glen canyon; in the Verde river region
of Arizona some very large canals have been observed, and on
the upper Gila river in Arizona, Fewkes discovered traces of
reservoirs and irrigation canals. Several of these old canal
beds in Arizona are being used by modern ditch builders. In
the Salt River Valley alone, these prehistoric farmers are be-
lieved to have irrigated successfully 200,000 to 250,000 acres of
crop land.
Many historians have said that if the inhabitants of
America could have had isolation, and a good beast of burden,
they would have reached a much higher stage of civilization
than they did reach. The most common domesticated animals
were the dog, the llama, and the related alpaca. There were
no others. It is true that we have on record instances of in-
dividual animals of other species being tamed but in no case
were they propagated.
The dogs served several purposes: transportation, hunting,
guarding, and companionship, or food, according to locality.
They varied greatly in size and form from the hairless variety
of the tropics, to the great hairy beasts reared in some parts
of the Arctic.
In Peru we have the llama, a small camel-like animal which
has little more carrying power than a large dog, but is particu-
larly well adapted to mountain travel. These were domesticated
in large herds, sometimes reaching the thousands. In addition
to their use in transportation, they were slaughtered for their
flesh and sheared for their wool.
Before the time of Columbus, no tribe had an animal able
to carry a man. The dog packers walked in front of their
trains, and even the Eskimo walked more than he rode. The.
coming of the Spaniards made quick changes. The mule and
the donkey were soon in general use. Wild cattle soon overran
Texas and southern California. The use of the horse spread
much faster than exploration, so that in many cases our first
actual view of a tribe is a horse user.
Turkeys were raised for their feathers and eggs by the
Pueblo and Mexican peoples. As to the tribes of the lower
Mississippi, we cannot be certain, for some of them got chickens
so early that the first French settlers in Louisiana found them
raised everywhere. The natives of Cuba, however, are credited
with having domestic fowls, and with stocking fish ponds when
first discovered. The domestication of the bee for its honey
was common in some districts.
Logan, Utah
Hospitality
By D. C. Retsloff
The afternoon shadows were lengthening and wrapping
the deep canyons of the mountains in folds of soft dusky blue
velvet as I came to a path crossing the trail.
It was a well worn path and I followed it. It ended at the
rocky doorstep of a weathered log cabin more than half hid-
den by long, red-brown branches of southern mahogany.
On the rough hewn white pine door was tacked a paper,
and on it in cramped script was written:
"Stranger — The door's unlocked. Go in. There's plenty of uncooked
eats in the tin pails. There's wood in the leanto and water in the spring,
just up the canyon. Build a fire, cook enough for two, and make your-
self comfortable till I come. I quit work when the sun kisses the peak
of old Baldy. "John Bush."
The fire was snapping — the potatoes and warm water bub-
bling— the bacon sputtering, and the red glow from the warped
old stove adding a homey bit of color to the brown room
when John Bush entered.
He was tall and sturdy, wilji snow white hair, a weathered
skin, and eyee as alert as those of a young chipmunk. He was
a prospector of the old school. His leathery face beamed as
he thanked me for the warm meal and the glowing stove.
We sat on the rude step and talked until the evening star
hid herself behind the distant peaks. The warmth still lingered
in the room, the pines higher up the mountain whispered to
each other, the faint murmur of the little stream running away
from its Spring mother reached me as I lay between the soft
gray blankets in one of the built-in bunk ends.
I am glad that I lost my way; glad that I followed the
worn path; glad that I met John Bush, and more than all
else, glad to know that in some corners of this busy universe
there is still found the fine old art of hospitality.
Scat Diego, Ced.
Significant Conference Themes8
By President Heber J. Grant
I am delighted once more to have the opportunity of meeting with
the Latter-day Saints in General Conference assembled. I am pleased
indeed to see so large a congregation here today, considering the in-
clement weather of some months past, and the great need of our
farming community to stay at home to prepare their farms for the
coming harvest. It shows the faith of the Latter-day Saints when
they neglect their ordinary temporal affairs, and, upon a week day,
assemble in such large numbers as we see here before us. I believe
this is one of the largest congregations I have seen for a number of
years, except on the Sabbath day, of Conference when, as you know,
the building is overcrowded and we have to hold overflow meet-
ings.
THE INSPIRATIONS FROM A NOTED HYMN
I never hear the opening hymn, "Come, come, ye Saints, no toil
nor labor fear, but with joy wend your way," but that my heart goes
out in gratitude and thanksgiving to God for these wonderful men
and women who sang this hymn, day after day, and week after week,
and month after month, as they were crossing the plains, coming fif-
t<*m hundred miles from the city of Nauvoo, where, as you know,
they had been expelled by a mob. A gentleman said to me in substance,
when I sang him this hymn one day as I was taking him up one of our
beautiful canyons, "Mr. Grant, I have never heard a single verse of
any hymn that has impressed me more with an absolute and perfect
faith in the immortality of the soul of man than that last verse in
your hymn, 'Come, come, ye Saints.' " Previously he had asked me
for a copy of the hymn which I gave him, and in addition, I had
given him a copy of The Songs of Zion.
"And should we die before our journey's through, happy day,_ all
is well We then are free from toil and sorrow too, with the just
we shall dwell." I am convinced that every one of the people who
traveled a thousand miles over an almost trackless trail to these val-
leys of the mountains, and who sang this hymn, had an absolutely
abiding testimony in their hearts and souls of the immortality of man.
There is no doubt in the mind of any Latter-day Saint that the body
shall be literally resurrected, that we shall meet God, our Father, in
^Opening address at the Ninety-Second Conference of the Church, April
6, 1922.
708 IMPROVEMENT ERA
whose image we were made, that we shall meet our Redeemer, our
elder brother, the Son of the living God. We have in very deed
found the place which God for us prepared. We have in very deed
been blessed of God. We have become, as the Prophet Joseph Smith
predicted, a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. He
said that the Saints should continue to suffer much persecution and
affliction, that many should be put to death by our persecutors, and
others should live to go and assist in building cities and making set-
tlements and should become a great and a mighty people in the midst
of the Rocky Mountains. This part of the country was then con-
sidered a worthless tract ; it was put down upon the maps as the "Great
American Desert," but the inspiration of the living God to Joseph
Smith as shown by the prophecy that he uttered and had recorded,
was that we were to come here; and we have come here, and we have
become a mighty people in the midst of these mountains. Brigham
Young announced that in vision the Lord had shown him this valley,
and when he stood upon the hill to the east and saw the valley, he said
"This is the place." When I think of this great building erected by
him and remember that the few nails used in it cost at the rate of
$1.00 a pound, and that it is held together with wooden pins and tied
with raw-hide — when I think of the erection of this building and the
organ here and all the great things that were accomplished under the
direction of that wonderful pioneer, especially when I hear this hymn,
my heart goes out in gratitude, that I, too, had a father who was one
of those who came here in early days as a pioneer and that he had in
his heart the love of God and the faith that God had prepared a place
for us, far away in the West.
CONCERNING THE GREAT SUGAR INDUSTRY OF THE
INTERMOUNTAIN COUNTRY
I have received a communication asking me if I did not think I
had charged a little bit too much when I received $900,000 commis-
sion for raising $2,100,000' to help out the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company.
I did not get one dollar of commission, neither did the "Mormon"
Church get a dollar of commission ; but the "Mormon" Church used
its credit for $2,100,000 to buy $3,000,000 of preferred stock, (less
the limited amount which the share holders took, which was a little
less, as I remember it, than 10 per cent of the capital stock). We
did this to save the sugar industry, and I spent weeks of my time bor-.
rowing money for the Church — something we do not like to do, and
would not have done except to save a great industry, for the benefit
of the farmers and the stockholders of the company.
I want to say to the Latter-day Saints that the first beet sugar
factory ever built in the United States of America, with American
machinery, was built by the people of Utah, at Lehi ; but for the fact
that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used its credit
SIGNIFICANT CONFERENCE THEMES 709
and borrowed the money to build that factory, during the panic of
1891, that factory would never have been built. I was utilized by
President Woodruff and his counselors as the financial agent of
the Church, and I went to New York, to Boston, to Hartford, to
Philadelphia, to San Francisco and other places, and borrowed money
upon the credit of the Church to finish that factory, for the people
who had subscribed for stock in it, because of the panic, failed to ful-
fil their pledges. It is only fair to say that many of the bankers were
not willing to loan money to build that factory, even to the Church,
because banks were failing all over the country. I made a proposi-
tion to the bank that loaned the last $100,000 for the building of the
factory that if the banker, the cashier and manager of Wells Fargo
Bank of San Francisco, would write the names of twenty-five of
the strongest financial men in Salt Lake City who were "Mormons"
I would promise that twenty out of that twenty-five would individually
and collectively guarantee the payment of the $100,000. I used
to be his office boy in Salt Lake City when he was the manager of
Wells Fargo Bank here, and I pleaded with him that as he believed in
me as a boy, to believe in me now as a man and as one of the leaders
of the "Mormon" Church. He laughed and said, "Why, Heber, that
is an impossibility, no set of men on the face of the earth would
guarantee four Church notes for $25,000 each. I said, "All I ask
is for you to give me the privilege, and if I fail to get the twenty
signatures, then I do not ask you to loan me the money." He said,
"My boy, I will go you 100 per cent better; you offer me a margin
of five ; I will give you a margin of ten. I will write thirty names,
and if you can get twenty out of the thirty, your Church can have
the money." He wrote four or five, tore up the slip of paper, threw
it in the waste-basket and said, "By the way, Heber, twelve or four-
teen years have passed since I left Salt Lake, many a man who was
wealthy then may be busted now ; I will just have my successor in
Salt Lake write those thirty names and when you take him the notes
he will pay you the money. I came home and the man wrote thirty
names. I secured twenty-four signatures out of the thirty and three
of the men on the list were out of the city, and I secured one endorser
who Was not on the list, the late David Eccles, who was worth more
than any half dozen of the men who signed. David Eccles who heard
me telling the story, asked me the question, "Is my name one of the
thirty?" When I said, "No," he said, "I would like to look at those
notes." I had said they were payable, one in six months, one in
twelve months, one in eighteen months and one in twenty-four months.
He did not look at the face of them; he turned them wrong side up
and wrote his name on the back of them and said, "My name won't
hurt them." Then he said, "You tell President Wilford Woodruff
that David Eccles always keeps two or three hundred thousand dol-
lars where he can put his hand on it by giving thirty days' notice, and
that, as these notes fall due, if he will give me thirty days' notice, I
710 IMPROVEMENT ERA
will take them up, and he can pay me in one year or five years or ten
years or whenever convenient.
There is, perhaps, nothing more tiresome to an audience, ac-
customed to hearing a man speak always without reading, than for
him to read to them, but I am going to tire you by reading an edi-
torial from the Improvement Era, entitled, "Integrity and Industry:"
"In the practical religion of the Latter-day Saints, we find not only spirit-
uality, but integrity; not only faith, but works" * * * *
I may not have been a very good preacher of the gospel of the
Lord, Jesus Christ, from the standpoint of doctrinal preaching, but
I have endeavored, to the best of my ability, since I was called as a
boy forty odd years ago, to preside over the Tooele stake of Zion,
and forty years this coming October, to be one of the apostles of the
Lord, Jesus Christ, to preach the doctrine of St. James, "I will show
thee my faith by my works." He wanted men to show their faith by
their works: and I have announced to the Latter-day Saints time and
time again from my first public speech lasting seven and a half min-
utes, after my call to the ministry, *hat I did not ask any man to be
a more honest tithe payer, or a more perfect observer of the Word of
Wisdom, or to be a better observer of his family and secret prayers,
or to be more liberal in proportion to his means, for the advance-
ment of God's kingdom, than I would be ; and, thank the Lord, I
have kept that promise, made to the people of Tooele. I believe in
the Latter-day Saint who is honest with the Lord, God Almighty,
who believes it a privilege to contribute to the Lord one-tenth of
all that the Lord puts into his hands, I beh'eve in the man who goes
down on his knees and supplicates God every day of his life for the
guidance that comes from above ; I believe in the man who observes
the Word of Wisdom and who has faith enough not to take into his
system those things that the Lord, God Almighty has revealed to us
are not good for man.
«* * * * not oniy thrift, but industry, not only co-operation, but
unselfish service. In a community where these characteristics predomi-
nate, the consequence must necessarily result in a God-fearing, clean, loyal,
prosperous and dependable people.
"As an illustration of these remarks, we cite the wisdom displayed in
the saving of the sugar industry of Utah and Idaho from the recent threat-
ened disaster. The founding of the sugar industry was one of the grandest
happenings that could come to the West, and is an illustration of the wis-
dom, faith, and integrity of those who stood and who stand at its head. Had
this great industry, which was seriously threatened, not been sustained
and protected, the disastrous effects would indeed have been far-reaching,
and the loss most dreadful,, not only to business, but to individual producers
as well.
"In view of these facts, and considering the benefits to be derived from
this accomplishment, the following statement, from one who is well-in-
formed on the subject, must prove of great interest, both to manufacturers
and farmers, as well as to the people in general:
SIGNIFICANT CONFERENCE THEMES 711
" 'For the various sugar companies of Utah and Idaho during the season
of 1921, there were approximately 16Q.000 acres of sugar beets grown by
approximately 16,000 farmers. About half of this amount was raised for the
Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. The 16,000 farmers delivered from the 160-
000 acres to the various companies in the two states approximately 1,600,-
000 tons of beets, from which upwards of 4,000,000 bags ot sugar have been
manufactured, which,, if sold at the present price of about $4.50 per bag,
would amount to approximately $18,000,000, this being distributed, about
one-half to the farmer, and the other half to the workmen and manufac-
turers for material, etc. While the manufacturers of this sugar will un-
doubtedly sustain a loss, unless the price of sugar increases, yet the benefits
to be derived from the circulation of this vast sum of money, during this
period of financial distress), is of inestimable value. It furnishes the very
life's blood of our industrial pursuits, and will assist in tiding this section
of the country over, in some of its financial difficulties. -
Speaking of circulation of the blood reminds me of the fact that
a dollar as the circulating medium of finance, is to the body of the
financial world, exactly what a drop of blood is to the human body.
1 understand there are about twenty pounds of blood in the human
body, and that the heart handles about four ounces every time it
beats ; therefore it handles, since the heart beats about eighty times
a minute, the whole twenty pounds every minute. Multiply this
quantity by sixty, and then multiply it by twenty- four, and you get
more than ten tons — yet there are only twenty pounds of blood
which circulate continuously every twenty-four hours. Twenty
pounds of circulating medium; ten tons of work every twenty-four
hours; — -the heart, just about the size of my hand, is a wonderful little
pump. It goes, with some people, over ninety years, without even
being told to go. Of course, it just accidentally dropped inside of us,
and just accidentally goes on, according to the ideas of some people!
Now, it is estimated that a dollar does from $25 to $100 worth of
work every year. Just figure it out — if you can get a string of
figures long enough — what this $18,000,000 would do, if it did a
hundred times that much work every year. Brother Ivins had an inter-
esting check. A man in Arizona, where they have had great money de-
pression and are hard up on account of the discontinuance of the high
prices for cotton, drew up a check for $25. When the check was returned
it had paid $500 in debts, having twenty endorsers. I heard the manager
of the Federal Reserve bank in our city say that some six or seven
months ago there were forty odd million dollars of rediscounts in that
bank, and that they had been reduced to twenty-two and a fraction. I
want to give it, as my judgment, that as 85 per cent of all the sugar
that is raised in the intermountain country has to go to or beyond the
Missouri river, if the vast sum of money, resulting from sugar sales had
not been brought here, instead of the Federal Reserve Bank having only
twenty odd millions of rediscounts today, it would have nearer thirty
odd millions.
I have often told the story about Bishop Geo. E. Farrell, who bought
1l2 IMPROVEMENT ERA
iome home-made shoes and paid for them at the depot, and then
found his $5 went around and around and at last landed in his own
pocket after paying $25 worth of debts. He said he bought home-
made goods because it kept the money at home and helped build up the
Community. I recommend this, because, since I was a youth of 17
or 18, I bought but one suit of clothes in Salt Lake,until the mills closed,
not made from cloth manufactured in the old Provo Woolen Mills.
I heard Brigham Young deliver a sermon here, telling the people who
were then a thousand miles from supplies, that we should be self-
sustaining and should patronize home manufacturing institutions. I
patronized the Provo Woolen Mills from that day until the day the
mills closed. The one suit purchased in Salt Lake that was not made
from Provo goods, was when I had the honor of being in the Legis-
lature. We gave a ball to the members of the Wyoming legislature.
I was wearing at that time a gray Provo suit; but did not want to
be the only white sheep at the ball in the theatre ; so I bought a hand-
me-down black suit from the Z. C. M. I. — "Prince Albert." The next
day I gave that thirty odd dollar suit to a poor relative. I said I did
not want to have it on, if I should happen to want to preach on sup-
porting home manufacture.
" 'Had this financing not been accomplished, business concerns through-
out this section would have been shaken to their very foundations and
would have suffered great losses.
" 'To produce the $18,000,000 resulting from the 160,000 acres of beets
and the sugar manufactured therefrom, it would take 1,000,000 acres of
grain or 1,500,000 acres of alfalfa at the present prices. Therefore the
sugar beet crop manufactured into sugar has produced, in the gross, five or
six times, at least, as much per acre as that of the other standard crops of
this section. \t also furnishes thousands of people with employment both
in and out of the factories, which the other crops do not furnish.
" 'Besides, the by-products of the beet crop, such as tops, pulp and syrup,
have fed thousands of head of cattle, sheep and dairy cows, thus produc-
ing abundance of beef,, mutton and dairy products, for home consumption
and shipment abroad, the returns for which have been brought back to the
two states above mentioned. Futher, the feeding of the livestock on the
farms helps to keep up the fertility. It has been thoroughly demonstrated
that the growing of sugar beets raises the standard of farming and in-
creases the yields of other crops to follow. The countries of the old world,
as well as the new, where sugar beets have been grown for a long period
of years, have proved that where 25 per cent of the land has been used
for beet culture the remaining 75 per cent has raised as much in cereals as
the 100 per cent produced before sugar beets were grown. The deep plow-
ing required for this crop, the intense cultivation of the soil, and the small,
fine rootlets of the beets, that penetrate deeply into the soil, and are left there
to pass off into the soil, are all beneficial to other crops in the rotation system
which so many of the farmers have learned to follow.' "
This is the end of the quotation from whoever furnished this in^-
formation. The associate editor of the Era, Edward H. Anderson,
than whom no more faithful, no more upright, no more diligent man
SIGNIFICANT CONFERENCE THEMES 713
is in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, makes the
following comment:
"Both business and agriculture have indeed cause to be thankful that
the policy pursued in the beginning of the sugar industry in Utah, about
thirty years ago, is still to be continued."
After hearing an adverse report to establishing the industry, made
by a committee of leading financial minds of Utah, President Wilford
Woodruff said, "The beet sugar industry will be beneficial to this
community, and although it may break the Church, it shall be estab-
lished." To the inspiration of the Lord to that man, we are indebted for
the establishment of this great industry.'
HOME MANUFACTURE
I am delighted to say that within the last week, I have placed
an order for a suit of clothes from goods made at the Knight Woolen
factory. Go thou and do likewise. I am delighted to say that I am
standing in shoes that are made here at home. Go thou and do like-
wise. We sing, "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet to guide us
in these latter days," but many of us ought to put a postscript on it,
"Provided he doesn't guide us to do something that we do not want
to do."
GOVERNMENT AID TO INDUSTRY
During the past year, on account of the financial distress and
other troubles, I have had to go to New York and Washington three
times. I want to say that I am delighted to be a citizen of this great
Republic. I am delighted that we are a great and powerful nation;
I am delighted that the men who stand at the head of this nation
are anxious for the welfare of the farmer, the stock-growers, the
beet industry and every other industry in our country. I believe that,
except for the aid extended by the Government of the United States,
through the War Finance Committee, amounting to about nine mil-
lion, five hundred thousand dollars, our beet sugar industry could not
have survived. Bankers from San Francisco, Chicago and New York
declined to assist when we appealed for aid to harvest our beet crops,
for some of our factories here. We asked for an adjournment of forty-
eight hours. The next day a committee of influential men from this
City and from Denver presented our claims to Mr. Eugene Meyer, Jr.,
the manager of the War Finance Committee, and to his associates. Mr.
Meyer introduced us to the President of the United States, who very
kindly said, "These men are entitled to your help." Before the day was
over we were pledged ten million dollars upon our stock of sugars,
with which to harvest the beet crop and to furnish the money to pay
the farmer. That money came to us rapidly. The next day, when we
went back to New York, where we had been met with a cold reception
and no promise of help, arrangements were made for a year's exten-
714 IMPROVEMENT ERA
sion upon several millions of obligations of some of the sugar com-
panies. I am grateful for our wonderful country.
SERVICES AND LIBERTIES OF OUR GREAT AND GLORIOUS COUNTRY
Speaking of our wonderful country reminds me that recently
I heard three speeches by Herbert Hoover, which are among the most
remarkable that I have heard in my life. One was given at the
Commercial Club, one before the Engineer's Association of Utah and
the third one before the Rotarians. I have just sent a copy of the
speech before the Rotarians to the Deseret News, to be printed next
Saturday. I would to the Lord that every American citizen would
read that speech. I will read the closing paragraph. He had told
of the feeding of millions upon millions by our great and glorious
country, and he closed by saying:
"I feel certain that it is more important to our country both spiritually
and materially that we should have planted the American flag in the
hearts of 250,000,000 people, than that we should maintain it at the mast-
head of any battle-ship we have yet built."
While I think of it, I am grateful for the success of that won-
derful Disarmament Conference recently held in Washington, as a
result of which millions upon millions of dollars of battleships will be
peaceably sunk, instead of being used as engines of war to kill hosts
of people and to be sunk in battle ; and that the armaments of the
great countries have been reduced.
A FIVE WEEKS' REST AND ACTIVITY IN CALIFORNIA
I recently had the pleasure of spending a little more than five
weeks in Southern California. After the strenuous time that I had
in the East, _and the multiplicity of duties that devolve upon me, I
took my first long rest since I was a boy of fifteen. Nevertheless,
mail followed me and I kept a stenographer busy most of the time
while I was resting. In addition I had the pleasure of attending
meetings in the wonderful city of Los Angeles, which is growing by
leaps and bounds, in Ocean Park, in San Bernardino, in Fresno, in
Bakersfield, in Long Beach and in San Diego. I attended nine
meetings in five weeks. Notwithstanding the "loaf," so to speak,
that I had down there, I did quite a bit of work. We dedicated a
meeting-house in San Bernardino, and I feel to rejoice that upon the
spot of ground that was originally settled by "Mormon" pioneers, we
now have our own meeting-house. The United States sent an army
against us because some run-away judges lied and said that we had
burned the court records and that we were in rebellion, etc., etc. ;
when these charges were afterwards proved to be false we were
pardoned for sins that we had not committed. At that time the
"Mormon" pioneers in San Bernardino were called home from the great
California ranch which they had bought and which today, no doubt,
SIGNIFICANT CONFERENCE THEMES 715
is worth more than all the possessions of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, several times over. The fact is that those who
remained there and who did not come back when Brigham Young
called them, lost their faith; and every Latter-day Saint who believes
and knows that we have the truth, realize that the saving of one soul
is of greater value than all the wealth of the world. Therefore we
feel to thank the Lord that about 95 per cent of the San Bernardino
settlers came back to Utah. I thank the Lord that upon the spot in
California where once the Latter-day Saints were established, we
now have our own meeting-house.
I rejoice thoroughly in the wonderful spirit of the gospel which
I found in my recent labors in California. There are no people in
all the wide world that can compare with the Latter-day Saints in
fulfiling the admonition of our Redeemer to keep the first and
second great commandents, "Thou shalt love thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind" ; and the
second is like unto it, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
WONDERFUL MISSIONARY WORK OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS
When I think of the wonderful missionary work of the Latter-
day Saints, the five hundred, the thousand, and some years two thous-
and men at a time who go out at their own expense, with no hope of
earthly reward, to proclaim an unpopular doctrine, solely because of
the love of their fellow men, I rejoice in this gospel of Jesus Christ
that inspires men with a willingness to perform such service. When
I think of the twenty long years that have been given in proclaiming
the gospel without money and without price, by my counselor, Presi-
dent Charles W. Penrose, now 90 years old — twenty long years in
his native land, ten years as a young man from nineteen to twenty-
nine, without purse and without scrip — without hope of earthly re-
ward, I rejoice in the testimony and the knowledge of the gospel that
must be in a man's heart who will give such wonderful evidence of
the love of God and the love of his fellow man. No peoples in all the
world can compare with the Latter-day Saints in giving of their time
and their money for the benefit of their fellows, to carry to them the
glad tidings of great joy. The California mission is growing by
leaps and bounds as are all of our missions.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES — CHURCH AND SECULAR
That reminds me that I have a few missionary statistics here in
connection with some others, that I will now read:
"There have been expended for the year 1921 for stake and ward
purposes in the maintenance of operation of the stakes and the wards of
the Church, $925,270.
"Education — Expended for the maintenance and operation of Church
schools and seminaries, $893,000. :
I will read something about education from a great educator,
716 IMPROVEMENT ERA
Nicholas Murray Butler, President of the Columbia University. This
was sent to me by the President of the Brigham Young College:
"The little red schoolhouse of the generation that followed the Civil
War, with its wretchedly poor equipment but with an earnest and devoted
teacher who laid stress upon character-building and upon the fundamentals
of intellectual training, did more for the American people than does many
a costly and well-equipped educational palace such as may be seen in any
part of the United States today.
"It is significant, too, that in this period of vigorous and able-bodied
reaction the world should be without a poet, without a philosopher, and
without a notable religious leader. The great voices of the spirit arte all stilled
just now. while the mad passion for gain and for power endeavors to
gratify itself through the odd device of destroying what has already been
gained or accomplished.
"The simple business of training young children in good habits of diet
and exercise and conduct; of teaching them the elementary facts of the
nature which surrounds them and of the society of which they form a part;
and of giving them ability to read understandingly, to write legibly and to
perform quickly and with accuracy the fundamental operations with num-
bers, has been pushed into the background by all sorts of enterprises that
have their origin in emotionalism in ignorance, or in mere vanity.
"There is no man, there is no people,, without a God. That God may be
a visible idol, carved of wood, or stone, to which sacrifice is offered in
the forest in the temple, or in the market-place; or it may be an invisible
idol, fashioned in a man's own image and worshiped ardently at his own
personal shrine. Somewhere in the universe there is that in which each
individual has firm faith, and on which he places steady reliance. The fool
who says in his heart, "There is no God" really means there is no God but
himself. His supreme egotism, his colossal vanity, have placed him at the
center of the universe which is thereafter to be measured and dealt with in
terms of his personal satisfactions. So it has come to pass that after
nearly two thousand years much of the world resembles the Athens of St.
Paul's time, in that it is wholly given to idolatry; but in the modern case
there are as many idols as idol worshipers, and every such idol worshiper
finds his idol in the looking-glass. The time has come once again to repeat
and to expound in thundrous tones the noble sermon of St. Paul on Mars
Hill, and to declare to these modern idolaters "Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly
worship, Him declare I unto you."
A gentleman sent out several hundred letters to representative
ministers, and asked them the question: "Do you believe in God, a
personal God, a definite and tangible intelligence, not a congeries of
laws floating like a fog in the universe, but God a person, in whose
image you were made?" Not a minister answered, "yes." They said
they could not be certain about a thing of that kind. There is no
Latter-day Saint who does not believe absolutely in God as a person-
al being, and that the scripture tells the truth when it says "In the
image of God created He him ; male and female created He them."
The foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ, organized ninety-two
years ago today, is based upon the appearance of the Lord, God Al-
mighty, a glorified Being beyond the power of man to describe, to a
boy not yet fifteen years of age. It is based upon the
appearance of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the express image
SIGNIFICANT CONFERENCE THEMES 717
of the Father, to that boy. In answer to the boy's simple question,
"Which of all the churches on earth today is the true one," the Lord
God Almighty pointed to His Son and said to that boy, "This is my
beloved Son ; hear Him." When the question was repeated, which
church to join, that boy was told to join none of them; that they had
all gone astray. He was given to understand that he would be the
instrument in the hands of God of again establishing upon the earth
the gospel of Jesus Christ. We declare to all the world that God
lives, that He is the Father of our spirits, that He is absolutely the
Father of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world.
Men say we lack liberality and breadth, because we say we are the
only true Church. We are not lacking in liberality or breadth ; the Re-
deemer of the world, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, said it, and
we are repeating what He said. We believe in allowing all men abso-
lute freedom to worship where and what they may, but we declare to
all the world the truth as it has been revealed to us through the Proph-
et Joseph Smith. All men, all women, from the midnight sun country
of Scandinavia to South Africa, from Canada to South America, or
upon the Islands of the sea, who have entered the waters of baptism
and joined the Church of Christ, believe that Joseph Smith was in very
deed a prophet of the true and living God, and that God is a person
and talked to the boy Joseph. The whole world may declare they
do not believe that Joseph Smith saw God, the whole world may declare
that they do not believe that Jesus Christ appeared to him or delivered
a message, but all the disbelief of the world cannot change that message
and the truth of it, as it was delivered. Joseph Smith declared that
three years after the First Vision, in answer to fervent prayer, an an-
gel of God appeared and delivered a message to him ; that the angel dis-
appeared and leturned and repeated his message again; that he again
dissappeared and 'returned the third time. The entire night was con-
sumed with the three repetitions of that message which was that
there were buried, in the Hill Cumorah, some golden plates upon
which was inscribed the sacred history of the forefathers of the
American Indians, and that he should be the instrument in the hands
of God of translating those plates. The plates have been translated and
the translation is now known as the Book of Mormon.
"Oh," says one, "I do not believe he ever had the plates." If
he had the plates, the disbelief of the world cannot change it. Joseph
Smith announced that John, the Baptist, came to the earth laid his
hands upon the heads of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith, and or-
dained them to the Aaronic Priesthood, with authority to baptize ; and
he also announced that Peter, James and John came to the earth and
delivered the authority to build up the Church of Christ, by laying
their hands upon them and by ordaining them to the Melchizedek or
the higher Priesthood and by bestowing upon them the Apostleship.
So, to all the world we declare these truths, and the disbelief of all
718 IMPROVEMENT ERA
the world cannot change the fact, for it is a fact. God has given to
the Latter-day Saints by the revelations of His Spirit a knowledge
that this is true. Again reading from Prest. Butler's remarks : "We
are trustees of a great inheritance. If we abuse or neglect that trust,
we are responsible before Almighty God for the infinite damage that
will be done in the lives of individuals and of nations."
I will have this extract from the speech of Nicholas Murray
Butler, part of which I have read, published in full in the Era. I think
you will all enjoy reading it.
I rejoice in the very splendid exercises that we had yesterday up
at the University. You will undoubtedly be able to read the speeches
that were made. I thoroughly enjoyed them, and I am sure you will.
There has been expended for educational purposes $893,000.
This is over 100 per cent, nearly 150 per cent more than it was
a few years ago. I regret, because of the falling off in tithing, the
discontinuance of dividends from sugar companies and other ins-
titutions, that we will have to curtail very materially during the com-
ing year, our school activities.
CHURCH CHARITIES AND MISSION EXPENDITURES
Expenditures for Temples: — Expended for the construction, maintenance
and operations of temples, $170,000.
Charities : — Amount expended from the tithes, $266,649.
There was expended for charities through the Relief Socities and other
sources, $459,769, therefore the total expenditures for Church charities last year
was $726,733.
You will notice that the total expenditures not including the Relief Society-
disbursements, amount to $2,255,234, which is for stake and ward purposes,
education, temples and charities.
Mission Expenditures
For the erection of chapels and the maintenance and operation of all the
missions $518,647. In additions to the payments made from Chuich funds for
mission purposes, we estimate there has been sent to missionaries by their
families and friends, $860,640.
By the way, we have heard it remarked by some people, that
they had quit paying tithing because all the tithing comes to Salt Lake
City, and that they would like to build up their own local section.
For the benefit of the Saints, I will announce that 84 2-3 per cent of
all the tithes collected, in the missions and in the Church, is sent back
to the stakes, wards and missions. So the immense amount that is
used up here won't hurt anybody very much.
CHURCH GROWTH AND VITAL STATISTICS
Children blessed and entered on the records of the Church in the stakes and
■missions 20,441.
Children baptized in the stakes and missions 15,404.
Converts entered on the records of the Church by baptism 7,113
Net increase in Church membership for the year 1921 22,779
SIGNIFICANT CONFERENCE THEMES 719
There are now 86 stakes of Zion, 879 wards, 24 missions and 789 branches in
the missions.
Birth rate, 37.3 per thousand.
Death rate, 8.2 per thousand.
Families owning their own homes, 75 per cent.
VITAL STATISTICS
We are a very wicked and bad people, according to liars over in
England and some other places, even in this country. As a rule no
bad people have a high birth rate. No civilized people, who are bad,
have a low death rate. No bad people have a low proportion of the
inmates of the penitentiary. The Ex-Governor of Arizona was reputed
to have said — I did not hear him say it, but George Albert Smith and
Joseph F. Smith say they did; that no better citizens could be found
in Arizona than the "Mormons." In one particular, considering the
expenditure of the state taxes, he said they were being robbed of be-
tween 2500 and 3000 per cent, because in proportion to their popula-
tion they ought to have in the Arizona State Penitentiary from twen-
ty-five to thirty inmates and they only had one. He said that in anoth-
er respect they were being robbed, also, for they ought to have seven
or eight in the Insane Asylum, and did not have any. The first
time I went to Arizona, after I heard this story, I was speaking in
the St. Johns meeting house, and when I expressed my gratitude that
we were lacking twenty-four to twenty-nine inmates in the state peni-
tentiary, a gentleman got up and said that he was the District Judge
in Apache county and that the one "Mormon" inmate of the peni-
tentiary had been pardoned. When Governor Campbell was here
with the Governors of the states of the Union, he and some others
did us the honor to call upon my counselors and myself, and I re-
peated this story to the Governor. He laughed and said, "Yes, I
remember, he was from Apache county."
I have been connected, since the time I was a boy of fif-
teen— fifty long years — with the insurance business. The death rate
in the great life insurance companies, like the Mutual Life and the New
York Life, that I also represented, (neither of whom would insure me,
because I was too long and lean, and they had a rule you know, that
a man has to be somewhere within the bounds of proportion before
he is fit to be insured) is ten and a fraction to the thousand, yet
this bad, immoral people that are sending out missionaries to secure
girls practically for brothels and houses of ill-fame, according to the
liars in England, whose lies have caused mobs to break all of the win-
dows in our London meeting house and to have the Government it-
self consider the question whether they will let a "Mormon" preach
in that fair land ; this people has a death rate nearly 20 per cent lower
than the great life insurance companies. "By their fruits ye shall
know them." I am at the defiance of the world to prove that there
can be found in any land or in any clime a community that by their
720 IMPROVEMENT ERA
fruits of honesty, of integrity, of virtue, of sobriety, of all these things
that go to make a good community — can show anything better by
their vital statistics than can the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice indeed,
my brethren and sisters, in the knowledge that we have that we are
serving God and that we are keeping His commandments and that
sooner or later those who know not the Truth, if they will investi-
gate our message and will investigate the record we have made, will
have to put the stamp of honesty, of sobriety, of integrity, of love of
fellow-men and of love of God and the love of country upon the
Latter-day Saints.
MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES
Number on foreign missions 1,688
Missionaries laboring in the stakes of Zion 2,046
Books of Mormon and standard Church works distributed in stakes and
missions 252,879
Gospel tracts distributed in stakes and missions 8,746,793
Gospel meetings held in stakes and missions 171,049
Temple Work
Baptisms, endowments, and sealing for living and dead performed in the
temples in the year 1921 646,410
Changes Since October Conference
New Stakes Organized: — Lethbridge stake.
New Stake Presidents: — President Hugh B. Brown, Lethbridge gtake;
President Lewis R. Anderson, So. Sanpete stake ; President James W. Funk,
Benson stake; President John A. Beckstrand, Millard stake.
New Wards Organised : — Mof fatt ward, Roosevelt stake ; Grand View
ward, Utah stake; Solomonville wardl. St. Joseph stake; McCornick ward,
Millard stake; Brigham City Sixth ward, Box Elder stake; Cedron ward,
Teton stake.
Bishops Who Have Died: — Bishop Gilbert Taysome, Afton So. ward, Star
Valley stake; Bishop Frank Stanley, Poplar Grove ward, Pioneer stake;
Bishop John W. dinger, Labelle ward, Rigby stake; Bishop Thomas H.
Blackburn, Brigham City Second ward, Box Elder stake; a former Bishop,
Thomas R, Cutler, of Lehi.
DEATH OF WM. W. RITER
We have lost by death the chairman of our auditing committee,
William W. Riter, the Chairman of the Board of Regents of the
LTniversity, a pioneer, one of the stalwart, faithful, diligent men of
our Church. The last time I heard him preach, he delivered a ser-
mon, which I sincerely regret was not reported. He announced that
for some fifteen or twenty years, as I remember it, he had religiously,
once a year, read the Book of Mormon through; and he said, to his
mind, it contained more inspiring and uplifting doctrine than any
book that had ever been published. He said he was at the defiance
of any man to find anything in the Book of Mormon, from cover to
SIGNIFICANT CONFERENCE THEMES 721
cover, to offend; that everything taught was uplifting to man-
kind. He stated that he loved the contents of that book with all his
heart. He bore a wonderful testimony of the divinity of this work ;
and of his intimate acquaintance and knowedge of the integrity
of the men, from Brigham Young down to the present time who had
stood at the head of the Church. He was only a boy when the Prophet
Joseph Smith was martyred, but he knew him; he came here as n
boy; he was one of the stalwarts^ of the business world in Utah. We
mourn his loss.
RETURN OF ELDER DAVID O. MCKAY FROM CIRCLING THE GLOBE
I rejoice in this wonderful gathering. I rejoice in the knowledge
which I possess that we are engaged in the work of the living God.
I rejoice in the fact that Brother McKay is with us today. Brother
McKay has circled the globe since he was last at a conference — has
visited our missions in nearly every part of the world, and has re-
turned, as every missionary does return who goes out to proclaim
this gospel and comes in contact with the people of the world and
with all the varieties of faiths of the world, with increased light,
knowledge and testimony regarding the divinity of the work in which
we are engaged.
THANKFULLNESS AND CAUSES FOR REJOICING
I thank God for the knowledge that I have that He lives. I
thank God for the knowledge I have that Jesus Christ is the* Reedemer
of the world. I thank God for the knowledge that I possess that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God, and that
this gospel, commonly called "Mormonism" is in very deed the plan
of life and salvation. I thank the Lord that I know that the souls of
men are precious in the sight of God, and that no other
people upon all the earth are so ready, so willing, so anx-
ious, as the Latter-day Saints are, to proclaim and spread the
gospel so that those who embrace it may go back and dwell eternally in
the presence of God, our heavenly Father. We, as a people, have cause
to rejoice because of the rich outpouring of the Spirit of the living God
upon the people all over the wide world, who have embraced the re-
stored gospel. I do pray with all the power, with all the fervor ot
my soul, that every Latter-day Saint who knows that God lives, who
knows that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, who knows that Joseph
Smith was a prophet, may live the gospel, may proclaim it by their
works of honesty, of integrity, of devotion, of a prayerful, upright
life, that those who know not the truth, by our example and our works
may be led to investigate the message that we have to bear. This is
my prayer and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lest We Forget
By Dr. Seymour B. Young, of the First Council of Seventy
VIII — The Snake River Expedition (Continued)
Through the beautiful valley of Teton, we went by slow marches,
allowing the horses frequent grazing opportunities, and the men to rest,
for strenuous travel was impossible, as lack of food was already beginning
to tell on the men.
Early in the day a small cinnamon bear was roused from his den;
some of the boys gave chase and succeeded in ovrtaking him in a dense
grove of quaking asp, where he was soon dispatched and divided among
the men. A swan and a badger were also added to our catch during the
day.
"When we encamped for the night, a few miles west of the lower
end of the Teton Basin, the men were refreshed with the wild game cap-
tured during the day and lay down to rest, more cheerful and comfortable
from this partial satisfying of their hunger. Our mess of eight had for its
portion the skin of the badger, which was placed on a bed of live coals,
when the hair and fur were completely singed and burned away, then the
bared skin of the beast began to sizzle and roast, and by this process of
roasting the thickening of the hide increased to at least three quarters of
an inch. When thoroughly cooked through it was divided between the
eight men of the mess, and after devouring each his portion, with the
rest of the party we rolled in our blankets and slept for the night.
On the 10th day we resumed our travel, still in a westerly direction,
till we struck a branch of the Snake river. We hoped to be able to cross
successfully this small stream, and then continue south and find the large
river divided into several smaller streams, thus enabling us to cross these
tributaries, which would bring us to the south shore of the main Snake
river, where we hoped to continue our march through a country well sup-
plied with wild game. Accordingly a number of the command entered
the stream, and swam with their horses to the other shore. Among the first
to land was Corporal Young and Private Charles Crismon. While the first-
named trooper succeeded in landing safely on the other side, Crismon's
horse seems to have been taken with a cramp, or else his feet became en-
tangle with the stirrups or the lariat attached to the saddle; at any rate,
he soon became helpless and sank to the bottom.
Comrade Crismon immediately disengaged himself from his horse,
swam over, and joined Comrade Young. Crismon not only lost his horse
but his saddle, bridle, and all of his clothing. On our return to camp
the following evening, the comrades made up for him a suit of clothes, and
he was given one of the pack animals with the pack saddle to ride until
a better mount could be found for him.
On arriving on the Island the two waited further developments. Some
of the boys constructed a small frail raft and placing it in the stream
near the shore three of them who could not swim, namely: Jimmie Sharp,
Joe Fisher and Joe Goddard, embarked on the boat, and, on pushing off
from the shore, they were instructed to lie flat on the raft and paddle and
LEST WE FORGET 723
steer with their hands across to the other side, which it was believed
possible for them to do, since the current was quite slow and ihe stream
not more than 200 feet wide. But the raft was too frail, and immediately
began to sink. Finally the boys had to stand on their knees, then on their
feet, to keep their heads above water. By this time Captain Smith and
Jimmy Wells and others had crossed over and joined Comrades Young
and Crismon; they eagerly watched the three comrades on the raft, which
was now drifting with the current in the middle of the river, the boys
on it unable to guide or help to propel it to either shore. Several of us
ran hastily down the bank, following the course of the raft, till it drifted
nearer the Island, when Jimmie Wells, with the loup of a long lariat
slipped over his right arm, plunged into the stream and swam with the
current till he overtook the floating raft with the boys, slipped his roped
arm between the poles of the raft and shouted, "Pull.'* In the meantime
when Wells entered the stream other ropes were added to the one he
had trailed behind him, so that, when he shouted to them on shore to
pull, the comrades on the frail raft were soon safely landed. After this
very exciting experience, several of the comrades explored further to
the south limit of the island. There it was discovered that the big Snake
river, swollen as it was from the melting snows of the Teton range, would
present an obstacle probably insurmountable in the way of their progress
in that direction. It was therefore concluded that the swimmers of the
morning should recross to the mainland, one of them carrying a line at-
tached to the raft across to the main shore. The same three comrades
were placed again upon the frail boat, but this time they were drawn
speedily and safely to shore without delay or accident, landing near the
same point from which they had embarked earlier in the day. Here camp
was established for the night, and camp fires plentifully provided that
the men might stand around them and dry their wet clothing. Later in
the afternoon, Comrade Joseph A. Fisher, approached the commander,
and, after saluting said, "Captain Smith, this is my twenty-first birthday,
July 28, and I would like to have a birthday dinner." The Captain replied,
"Well, we'll do the best we can for you, Joe." Accordingly a shank bone
of the bear was fished out of the pack and placed in the camp kettle half
full of water, and hung over the fire. Comrade Hale brought out a flour
sack that had once contained flour and, turning it inside out, it was found
that, in mixing dough in the sack, some of it had adhered to the inside,
and this was scraped off and added to the kettle of soup. What with the
scraping of the flour sack and some frogs' legs, added by Comrade Hale,
a kettle of broth without salt or seasoning of any kind was produced, and
Comrade Fisher records that twenty men ate from this his birthday kettle
of thin soup! The following day, July 29, we marched fifteen miles to
the south fork of the Snake river, secured some dry quaking asp logs,
constructed a raft and Captain Smith, O. H. Spencer, Andrew Bigler, S.
B. Young, Peter Corney, James Sharp and Tom Caldwell, with the bag-
gage of their mess, succeeded in crossing over.
On reaching the opposite bank most of the boys succeeded in grasp-
ing the limbs of a cottonwood tree which had fallen on the edge of the
stream. It was designed to pull the raft ashore and fix it with ropes for
the ferrying over of the balance of the company, but the current was too
strong, so that the raft was swept from under them all ; one of the com-
rades succeeded, however, in reaching the shore safely by the aid of the
limbs of a tree to which he clung. Captain Smith, seeing Caldwell still
on the raft and being carried swiftly down the river, plunged into the
stream and swam until he overtook the raft, climbed on it, and, with
Comrade Caldwell continued down the swift current of the stream for
more than a mile. It was now near the main encampment where it
724 IMPROVEMENT ERA
lodged on the point of an island. Here William Longstroth swam with
a long rope from the shore to the rescue of the two men on the raft.
Making fast the rope to the raft the three were soon hauled safely to
shore, with the loss, however, of two saddles, some cooking utensils and
some clothing.
The five comrades namely: Bigler Corney, Young, Sharp and Spencer
who had succeeded in landing upon the island when the raft got away,
found themselves being without clothes suffering intensely from
bites of the clouds of mosquitos that seemed to envelope them. Two of
the comrades, rebelled against this terrible mosquito scourge, and de-
termined to swim that night back to the opposite shore to obtain their
clothing and be with their comrades in camp through the night. These two
were Bigler and Corney, who made their way through brush and bramble
several hundred yards up the stream where they secured a dry quaking asp
log and succeeded with it, in crossing safely again this mountain torrent.
The other three who remained on the island, namely: Spencer,
Young and Sharp endured as best they could the bites of the hungry
insects through the long, weary night, naked as they were, with no de-
fense against the fierce onslaught of the millions of mosquitos.
At daybreak in the morning, however, the three comrades followed
the trail of those who had crossed the night before, going up the stream
several hundred yards and there securing a dry log, and pushing it into the
stream, and by its help were enabled to reach the shore from which they
started on their perilous voyage the day previous. They were warmly
greeted and welcomed by the captain and comrades in their camp a mile
further down the river.
It was determined at this point that the command would make no
further efforts to recross the south fork of the Snake river as two at-
tempts had already failed, in both instances nearly costing precious lives.
After these escapades the following day, the 30th, we continued our march
westward along the course of the river, but owing to the condition of
the men, on whom the want of food was beginning to tell seriously, the
company halted soon after noon, and our wagon master, Comrade Sol Hale,
was commissioned to interview Captain Smith and obtain from him per-
mission to kill one of the horses and divide it among the men, this to re-
lieve their hunger and to husband what little strength remained.
Captain Smith consented, and requested Comrade Hale to select one
of the animals and shoot it, and see it properly prepared and delivered
to the different messes according to their number. The horse was ac-
cordingly selected, tethered to a sage brush, and Comrade Hale walked to
within ten or twelve paces of the animal, leveled his six shooter, and
took deadly aim at the doomed animal. We all stood by expecting to
hear the report of the gun, and to see the poor, old faithful beast drop
dead, but Comrade Hale did not fire. All of a sudden, he dropped his
hand which held the gun by his side and said, tears blinding his eyes:
"Darned if I can shoot that poor old horse!" Then another trooper,
Jimmie Larkins, was selected to do the killing. The horse was soon dis-
patched and divided, and each man began to roast and eat his portion,
while the cooks engaged in boiling the larger and more bony portions
for a more substantial meal. It was observed that Captain Smith was
not eating. A comrade secured a piece of seemingly healthful liver and
after carefully roasting it over the fire, the Captain was induced to eat
a portion of it. The comrade also made his supper of the roasted liver,
not being able to eat the boiled meat, prepared as it was without salt
or seasoning of any kind. The fresh smell coupled with the strong odor
of the horse was sufficient to prevent any desire for the horse flesh that
night, but the following day hunger overcame every other consideration,
LEST WE FORGET 725
and a hearty meal was made of the boiled horse flesh. On July 31 we
reached the north fork of the Snake river, at a point near the two buttes,
about seven miles west of where Rexburg is now located. Here the remnants
of the slaughtered horse were devoured and the boys worked vigorously
hauling with their saddle horses dry logs from a little clump of trees
several miles away with which to construct a raft. The following morn-
ing, the 1st day of August, Mr. Hereford superintended the construc-
tion of a substantial raft, binding the timbers firmly together with
thongs of raw hide, cut from the hide of the slaughtered horse, and with
this raft the men who could not swim, and the baggage of he company,
were safely ferried to the other side of the stream. Though very deep
at this point and at least 30 rods wide the current being sluggish, enabled
the remainder of the men to swim over with their horses without diffi-
culty. They then crossed over a very swampy piece of ground which was
bridged with willows, the men carrying the baggage and their saddles
across this willow bridge, because the horses had all they could do to
wallow through the mire without anything to carry. Soon after crossing
this swamp, a small branch of the river was encountered and successfully
crossed, and the company safely landed on high ground near the foot of
the two buttes mentioned above.
On Aug. 2, the company marched twelve miles, and halted to allow
the animals to graze and rest. At this point Captain Smith and Corporal
Young rode in advance for the purpose of finding and intercepting any
company of emigrants that might be traveling to the north. After riding
about fifteen miles, a small camp of about eight wagons was overtaken
on the road leading towards some newly discovered mines in the northern
part of Idaho. They were camped for their mid-day meal.
After much solicitation, they reluctantly furnished us a hundred
pounds of flour, and a side of bacon, charging a very high price. The
men stated that a few days before, Indians had attacked their camp and
killed one of their men and run off one of their horses and five of their
cattle. Capt. Smith gave up his horse to Corporal Young, the Corporal using
his mount and saddle on which to pack the flour and bacon. "When the pack
was made up and thoroughly lashed, Young mounted the Captain's horse,
in obedience to the Captain's orders, and drove the pack animal swiftly on
the way to meet the approaching column of famished and hungry men.
Captain Smith was left to the tender mercies of the emigrants who had
threatened, when we first entered their camp, that they would hang each
one of us to the end of a wagon tongue. "We explained to them the fact
that we were members of a command of Utah Volunteers of the United
States army, and also the fact that about forty men belonging to said com-
pany were a few miles in the rear and very much in need of something
to eat, and should any harm come to us, vengeance might be taken upon
those who did the injury. After this their venom seemed all to have
passed away, and the provisions were furnished as above stated. The captain
marched along near the train, both coming up with the camp of volunteers
about dark in the evening, at which time we had established our camp and
were engaged in the baking of bread and the frying of bacon to satisfy the
hungry men. When the emigrant train had gone into camp near the vol-
unteers, they seemed desirous of showing, in every way possible, their re-
gret for the threats made to hang Captain Smith, and his comrade. They
furnished two large camp kettles, with soup bones and plenty of fresh
beef, also salt and pepper for seasoning. From these ingredients two brim-
ming kettles of soup, with dumplings, were being ladled out to the
men, and the feast of this delicious supply lasted till midnight. From this
time on till our arrival home there was no want of food. The fol-
726 IMPROVEMENT ERA
lowing day the command marched twelve miles to the outlet of the Snake
river which supplies Market lake. Here we encamped and rested till
the following morning at daybreak when we mounted our horses and swam
the outlet of the lake, and with ropes attached to the pack animals as-
sisted them to cross the stream by dragging them through it, part of the
time under water with their packs. From this crossing we made our way
twenty-two miles in a southwesterly direction, when we reached the point
on the Snake river called Eagle Rock, where a ferry had been established
by the Barnard Brothers, from Box Elder county, Utah. After crossing
on the Barnard ferry boat, Captain Smith purchased, of the ferry men,
several sacks of flour and a dressed beef. At this point we obtained from
Mr. Barnard a couple of wagons and some harness and hitching our pack
by slow and easy stages, by way of Fort Hall and past the trapper's lodge
where PocateUo is now located. Continuing up the Pertneuf river, past
animals to the wagons, we loaded our baggage and continued our march
the present site of McCammon, we reached Soda Springs, the second night
from the ferry.
The following day we resumed our march down the Bear river as far
as the north end of Cache Valley, and on reaching the little hamlet of
Clifton, entered the defile of this mountain stream and followed it over
the divide into Malad Valley. The next day we continued our march
thirty-five miles to the Bear river bridge, owned by Ben Hampton, over
which we crossed without difficulty, by paying the stipulated price for
men, horses and wagons.
The next day we reached Brigham City, and the following evening
camped a few miles north of Ogden, and in the afternoon, Aug. 15 about
4 o'clock we rode into Salt Lake City where we were warmly welcomed
by President Young, General Wells, and the populace.
Nothing is Wasted
In a mood of pessimistic scorn,
I wailed of the spots on God's great earth
Which then, to my limited mind, «eented shorn
Of beauty, of value, and every worth.
But since I have pondered well my words
And thought and prayed, till I understood
These words in the wonderful book — the Lord's,
"He created all things and called them good."
For the dead, dull wood and inanimate wire,
When shaped and formed and made a whole,
And christened "violin" or "harp" or "lyre,"
And played, will be found to possess a soul.
AM things are God's, and nothing is waste,
The least thing created, if studied, shows
That each has its work and each its place;
God speaks, and the desert blooms as the rose.
So the blackest soul, though purged with grime,
Through the mercy of Christ may yet be cleaned,
The wickedest heart though steeped in crime,
May repent to God and be redeemed.
Clifton, Idaho Orvid E. Howell
The Superintendent and the Teacher
By D. T. Praigg
It was Saturday afternoon and the Teacher sat in the office
of the School Superintendent. She had telephoned that she
would he there at 2 o'clock, and as the minute hand on the office
clock drew nearer and nearer the hour, she felt depressed and
almost wished she hadn't come. She looked out of the window,
then at the door leading to the Superintendent's private office,
and counted over and over again the things she would say to
him. For one thing, she was determined to get rid of that
Boy. And she intended to insist that he be dismissed from
the school as incorrigible.
In the midst of these meditations, the door opened and
the Superintendent entered. His cheery smile as he extended
his hand reassured her and she felt genuine relief as he seated
himself at a table opposite and turned an inquiring eye upon
her. His voice contained a helpful note and his smile was en-
gaging, when he said:
"So you are having trouble, are you?"
"Yes, and I am at my wits' end to know what to do," she
replied. "I have tried every expedient with that boy, and it
is impossible to do anything with him. He is simply incor-
rigible."
"Yes, you wrote me about him and I intended visiting you,
but the roads are so bad and you are so far out I couldn't pos-
sibly get to your school."
"I looked for you every day," smiled the teacher wearily,
"and as you didn't some, I thought I'd come to you."
"I am glad you have. I am always glad of an opportunity
to consult with our teachers. Let me see! You wrote me
that the boy is incorrigible. Is he really mean or is he simply
mischievous?" . . .
"I don't know what you'd call it, but he is always making
trouble. I can't turn my back but he^ is up to some kind of
trick that makes discipline impossible."
"And that, of course, has a bad effect upon the school as a
"Yes, and already some of the younger children have be-
gun to mimic him."
"Do you like him?" The question was direct and unex-
728 IMPROVEMENT ERA
pected and the eyes fixed on the Teacher were searching. She
hesitated, seemed confused and stammered:
"I don't see how I could when he makes so much trouble.
Do you think anyone could like such a boy?"
The question was ignored, but the Superintendent's next
query was not less pointed:
"Do you dislike him?" he asked.
"No-o, I can't say I really dislike him," was the hesitating
reply.
"But you are not absolutely sure? At least, you don't have
the same feelings towards him that you have towards others, do
you?"
Again the Teacher countered. "How could I?" she asked.
"I think we have found the key to your trouble," said the
Superintendent, as he leaned back in his chair and smiled
genially, "and if we have, we'll be pretty sure to find the
remedy. There are two things of which you may be certain —
if you don't like him you can't conceal the fact from him and
from the other pupils, and, if he and they know it, he does not
feel under obligation to assist you in making your school a
success. But one further question — How does he get along
with his studies?"
"I have no complaint to make on that score. He leads
his classes and, when he is always in some kind of meanness, I
don't see where he gets the time for study."
"I don't think I'd call it meanness yet," said the Super-
intendent, "but we'll let that pass for the present. We now
know that you don't like him, and it follows naturally that he
doesn't like you. It also follows that, being unable to con-
ceal your dislike from him and his fellow-pupils, he is care-
less both of your good opinion and theirs. But he has self-;
pride, which is shown in a desire to lead his classes, and he is
intelligent and studious and masters his lessons easily, and still
has time to show the other pupils that he doesn't like his
teacher; for that is what it amounts to in the end.
"We also know," continued the Superintendent, "that your
attitude towards him and his attitude towards you are having
a bad effect upon your school. Now, I don't want to criticize
you, but you must change your attitude toward that Boy, and you
must do it at once. Your success as a teacher, your influence
for good in the school and in the community, and that Boy's
future all depend on a change in you. When you dislike him,
you can't expect him to like you and be responsive to your
teaching, nor can you expect this mutual dislike to escape the
notice of the other pupils. There are here two dangers to be
feared; some of the pupils like the boy you dislike. As their
THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE TEACHER 729
sympathies are aroused in his behalf, the influence of the
teacher over them decreases. The boy thus enters upon leader-
ship and pretty soon the discipline of the school is destroyed;
and he supplants the teacher in the estimation of the pupils and
they follow his example rather than her precepts.
"If he were dull, if he had no ambition to lead his classes,
we might despair of him, but when he has ambition, when
he has so much self-pride that he wants to stand at the head
of his classes, despite the fact that his teacher doesn't like him,
you may be sure there is that in him which is worth all the sac-
rifices you can make to bring his better impulses to the sur-
face and make him an example to the school."
"You think, then, the fault is all in me?" asked the Teacher.
"No, I would not say that. But you have not studied the
boy. You have not tried to develop his best side. He is mis-
chievous. Let us grant that. But he stands well in his classes.
That shows self-pride. Why doesn't it extend to his deport-
ment? That is the question you should ask yourself, and for
which you should find an answer. And you will find it both
in yourself and in him. Don't think he is not worthy of the
most patient study. Why, that boy is a jewel! He's one in a
thousand, and you didn't know it! Think of the situation just
for a moment. A boy who is ambitious to learn. Then a boy,
who is so full of energy that he finds time from his studies for
mischief. And this boy not liked by his teacher, not cultivated
by his teacher, not encouraged by his teacher! Get at his good
side! Turn his energy for mischief into energy for further
study. But, above all, learn to like him, let him know you like
him and, depend upon it, he will learn to like you."
"But how can I do that?" asked the Teacher.
"How can you do that? "echoed the Superintendent. "How
can you do that? Cultivate him. Make it a point to show
interest in him. Talk with him at recess, on the way from
school. Ask him what he proposes to do in life. Suggest what
business, profession or occupation he ought to pursue. Let
him know you feel an interest in him. He isn't mean. There
isn't anything low and groveling in a Boy of that kind. He's
ambitious. It's your duty as his teacher to develop that am-
bition into paths that will make it a blessing to him and to
others. Where there are energy and ambition in a child there
are great possibilities for such traits in him as a man. What
he needs now is a directing hand. Yours is a position of grave
responsibility. The seeds you sow in your school should germ-
inate and bring honor, self-respect and character to the future
citizenship of our state."
"Yes, I know that," confessed the teacher.
736 IMPROVEMENT ERA
"But you know it now as a theory only," replied the Super-
intendent. "There is one thing you should keep always in
mind — the boy is the man in embryo, the girl, the woman, and,
as the impulses of the boy and girl are directed into channels
of good, as they are led by the hand of sympathy and cheered
by the voice of encouragement, they develop greater good and
become a blessing to themselves and to those with whom they
associate. The teacher has passed that period in our develop-
ment when she can give to all the same educational catholicon.
What meets the case of one child may nauseate another. You
must realize that every child has a possible future, and you
must see that it goes out from your tuition with the best possible
equipment both of knowledge and character that you are ca-
pable of giving. If he then fail in the great world struggle,
you have at least the consolation that your duty was well per-
formed ; if he succeeds, it is your pleasure to know that you lent
an impetus to his ambition and proved a potent factor in the
building of the sturdy character which overcame the obstacles
in his upward path. There are many discouragements which
we as teachers must meet and overcome, but the teacher, who
takes upon himself the responsibility of developing the mind
of the child, is not equipped for the high office of leader,
counselor, director and friend, unless he makes a patient and
honest study of those under his care. But I intended to ask:
Do the Boy's parents visit the school?"
"Yes, occasionally, but they are the only ones who do."
"And when they are present he gives you no trouble?"
"None in the least. In fact, he's a model of propriety when
we have visitors," smiled the Teacher.
"That speaks well for the Boy, for it shows that the home
discipline reaches him in school when his parents are present.
And it also shows that the home discipline, for some reason,
is better than the school discipline. We thus have this situation:
The Boy likes his parents and wants to appear well in their
eyes. He knows his teacher does not like him and even his
self-pride is impotent to conform his deportment in school in
their absence to what it is when they are present. Take this
lesson to heart. Study it carefully, and govern yourself by it.
And always bear in mind that kindness begets kindness, inter-
est begets interest, confidence begets confidence, and respect
begets respect. Invoke these sentiments in their fulness, and
you will win a great victory over the Boy, but your triumph
will not be his defeat but his victory also."
The Superintendent and the Teacher arose as he ceased
speaking. They looked at each other across the table. His face
wore a smile, her's was serious and thoughtful.
THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE TEACHER 731
"Yes," she said, nodding her head, "I understand now and
I'll do it."
"I want to impress one thought before you go," the Super-
intendent resumed; "Teachers are too apt to think their whole
duty is discharged when they develop the minds of their pupils
within the mental environment provided in the course of study.
The fact is that what the child learns from study of the books
in school is the smallest part of his education, unless it becomes
through the teacher's tuition the foundation for character
building, both in school and in after life. A study of the texts
may develop the child intellectually and add to the fund of
useful knowledge he may carry into the world with him as a
man, but what is its value to him or to society, if it be not
fortified by that sterling worth of character on which all real
success in life is founded? It follows, then, that we as teachers
sustain to parent and pupil a relation of far more importance
than that of merely developing the mind, for we fall far short
of our duty if we fail to see that larger horizon that lies be-
yond the schoolroom and into whose broader expanse the child
will go when his school days are over. You are going with the
Boy into that larger sphere. Begin the journey now, so that
he will feel the pressure of your guiding hand even to the
end."
As the teacher drove home that afternoon she thought long
and seriously over all the Superintendent had said. She was
glad she had not suggested that the Boy be dismissed from
school as incorrigible.
"Yes," she said musingly, "I now see I have not studied the
Boy as I should have done. I ought to have made him my
friend. I have conquered myself and I am going to conquer
him."
And unconsciously she urged old Del into a faster trot, so
anxious was she to get home and mature her plans in the quiet
and seclusion of her own room.
Indianapolis, Ind.
New Hope
When evening comes, my love, When evening comes, my love,
After the toil of day, Wait for the morning;
Look to the light above The night wind's wildest moan
And silently pray; Dies with the dawning;
Turn your eyes to lightest West, Gloom fades from memory
Out there sad hearts find rest, sweet On the morn of eternity,
rest.
Herald, Lethbridge, Canada Frank C. Steele
Rejoice in the Success of Other Men
By Dr. Franklin L. West, Director, School of General Science,
Utah Agricultural College
The right guard on the football team has pitted against
him a man of greater weight, strength, and experience. In
spite of his best efforts he cannot hold him. On the other hand,
the half-back on his own team, due in part to the splendid in-
terference of his team mates, is making large gains and no
doubt will be featured in the Sunday supplement. What is
the attitude of the guard toward his brilliant team mate?
What is the attitude of the one forward on the basket ball team
toward the other who makes most of the baskets?
In the athletic contest each man is selected because of his
special fitness and aptitude for a particular work, and that
work features in every play executed by the team. If any man
fails to hold his opponent, the latter breaks through, tackles
the runner, and the play is ruined. No matter how spectacular
the star is, if he will not adjust himself to the play and follow
the interference he will fail. The men work together as a unit,
operating as a well-oiled, perfectly adjusted machine, each man
being a very important cog in that machine but valueless un-
less he meshes with the others.
In the great game of life there must be team play, because,
in the big enterprises, such as business, the church, politics,
government, and education, large numbers of men and women
have been organized into a unit and thus are working together
in a common cause, and their success in putting over the big job
depends not alone on each one doing his particular work well
but also upon the sympathy and support he renders his asso-
ciates. Soured, envious people do not get along well with
their fellows, because they cannot articulate and co-operate well
with them.
Musicians and artists by temperament seem to be so sensi-
tive to criticism and public opinion, and so jealous of each
other, that it is rarely that you find them working closely to-
gether as real good friends. Many scientists have the same
failing. The big problems for solution will only be solved when
trained specialists, in different fields, unite for this solution,
and yet not a few have failed to co-operate because of jealousy
REJOICE IN THE SUCCESS OP OTHER MEN 733
and the fear that they would not be justly recognized when
the results of the research were given to the world.
Most young ladies have difficulty in being good friends too,
and in liking the most beautiful and popular girl of their com-
munity, and the thought of their own plainness makes them
most unhappy. Many married women, in part due to their iso-
lated lives but most largely because of their inheritance from
the past ages, when men have been so faithless to them, are
painfully jealous, in many cases even objecting to ordinary
business courtesy being extended by their husbands to lady
friends. Jealousy is a hideous, many-headed monster and a
source of great suffering to humanity.
Another attitude of mind would be to consider all people
as sons and daughters of God, and thus as our brothers and
sisters, and to be vitally interested in their welfare and in in-
creasing the sum total of human happiness. We might love
them and delight in their success and joy even though we may
have failed. ¥e might be generous in our opinions of others,
rejoice with them, thus participate in all the happiness that
exists around us, and unconsciously we will reflect it back and
carry even into the dark places the light of a cheerful heart.
The correct attitude for the person who is failing, toward
one who is successful, in the same line of endeavor, is clearly
exemplified by the following situation in the life of a great
character of history:
There came out of the wilderness a man clad in the home-
liest attire, eating the plainest of food, calling the people to
a new and better manner of living. Because of his earnest-
ness, sincerity, and eloquence, his following rapidly grew, un-
til the people all about Jordan came to him. for baptism. Even
though his message was not a honeyed one, yet crowds
were drawn to him, for his teaching aroused a great popular
response. Years afterward his disciples were to be found in
Alexandria, and in Rome and other great cities of Europe. His
popularity is further attested in that, when Herod, the Tetrarch,
the representative of the Great Roman Empire in Palestine,
had him thrust into prison, he would have put him to death but
for the fact that he feared the multitude, for they counted John
as a prophet. John was thus held in this high regard in spite
of the fact that he was a contemporary of the great Jesus who
was his cousin. We would think much of the Master's estimate
of the man, and he said of him: He is no reed shaken with the
wind — there hath not been a man born of woman greater
than he.
While John's influence and popularity were thus at their
734 IMPROVEMENT ERA
highest, Jesus came out from seclusion, appeared on the hanks
of the Jordan, applied to John for baptism, and commenced
his ministry. Although engaged in different phases of the
same great work, the personalities of the two were quite differ-
ent, and comparisons were made of them by their followers. John
was stern, austere, ascetic, uncompromising with error, given to
much fasting, and, on the whole, living a magnificent life of
self-denial. Jesus sat down with publicans and sinners, was
found at the marriage feast, and was more joyous, gentle, and
refined.
The warm place that John held in the hearts of the people
was largely to be replaced by Jesus. The followers of John
began to leave him and to become disciples of the Master.
John's popularity decreased as that of Jesus increased. This
touching scene is recorded in the scriptures: "Again the next
day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking
upon Jesus as he walked, he saith: Behold the Lamb of God;
and the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed
Jesus" (John 1:35-37). Then a little later some of his remain-
ing followers were discussing the subject of purifying, with
some of the Jews, and they came to John with this rather
unkind question: Why is that you are failing and Jesus is suc-
ceeding? The scripture reads: " * * * Rabbi, he that
was with thee beyond Jordan * * * behold, the same bap-
tizeth, and all men come to him" (John 3:26). John was a
magnificent character, possessing great self-respect, and he
might have attempted to explain away Jesus' success and en-
large on his own virtues, but he was too big a man to be envious.
Note his reply: "Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said,
I am not the Christ * * * he must increase but I must de-
crease" (John 3:28, 30). There is his intellectual assent as to
their relative positions; and now, in addition, note the spirit he
manifested toward Jesus; likening Jesus to the bridegroom and
himself to the friend, he said: "He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth
and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's
voice; this my joy therefore is fulfilled" (John 3:29).
The Era in Germany
Mission President Serge F. Ballif of the Switzerland-German Mission,
writing from Basel, February 3, says: "The Era is appreciated here very
much by the elders as a "word from home," which is the most pleasant
thing a missionary can receive. Due to the ever increasing number of
American missionaries, we would be obliged if you will increase the
number sent us to eighty copies."
Proclaiming the Gospel Through the Air
A new epoch in methods of preaching the gospel was in-
troduced on the 6th of May when the Deseret News Radio sta-
tion was formally dedicated, with speeches and musical selec-
tions broadcasted. President Heber J. Grant spoke into the
transmitter at 8 o'clock p. m., and gave a message to the people
of the world, saying as follows: "This is my message to the
people of the world, a quotation from the Doctrine and Cove-
nants, known as Section 76, a revelation to Joseph Smith and
Sidney Rigdon." He then quoted five paragraphs (76:40-42, 23,
24), and continued: "I bear witness to all mankind that Joseph
Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God."
Mayor C. Clarence Neslen then spoke into the instrument
and congratulated the people of the state and the intermountain
region.
He was followed by Mrs. Heber J. Grant, who, among
other things said: "I would not be surprised if we were talk-
ing to the planets before many years. This is one of the most
wonderful inventions of this or any other age."
President Anthony W. Ivins said: "When the 'Mormon'
pioneers entered the Salt Lake valley, in 1847, at which time
the Pony Express was the most rapid means of communicated
news from one point to another, they little dreamed that before
a period of seventy-five years had passed, their children would
talk to the world by wireless."
Elder George Albert Smith, superintendent of the Y. M.
M. I. A. followed. He heralded these words: "I have had
many unique experiences in my life. I had the privilege of rid-
ing the first bicycle that came into Salt Lake City, and the first
pattern of safety bicycle that came here. I talked in the first
telephone that came here and have talked over the long dis-
tance telephone from San Francisco to New York. I have heard
the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans rumbling over the wires.
I have also had the pleasure of riding in an aeroplane from
Brussels to London, at the rate, part of the time, of 100 miles an
hour.
"I have lived to see many wonderful things occur, as pre-
dicted by the prophets of old, wherein it was stated that when
736 IMPROVEMENT ERA
the Book of Mormon should first come forth, the Lord would
commence his work among the nations, and we have lived to
see more wonderful indications during the period of time since
the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, that would contribute
to the comfort and satisfaction of the human family, than have
occurred in all the balance of time since the world was created.
"And, now, to cap the climax, we have the opportunity of
talking over a wireless telephone, and having it broadcasted to
very many stations, scattered at intervals anywhere from 500 to
1,000 miles away. I had the privilege once of sending the first
wireless telegram that was ever received by President Joseph F.
Smith, when I was out in the Atlantic ocean, but I look upon
this wireless telephone as the culmination of all the marvelous
experiences to which the human family has thus far been heir,
and I congratulate the people who live in this wonderful land
of liberty, this country which is always foremost in matters of
invention, and I am grateful, indeed, that my lot has been cast
among a people who look forward to every good thing for the
benefit and uplift of mankind."
What the Professors Said
Much interest has been awakened in the very short, but
complimentary addresses which were given at the April An-
nual Conference of the Church by Professor Thomas Nixon
Carver, political economist and author; President Walter Ernest
Clark, and President Charles A. Lory. A number of solicitations
have come to the Improvement Era to print their remarks in
full, and we gladly comply with the request:
Thomas Nixon Carver
(Of the Harvard University)
I never expected to have such an honor as this in my life.
I have been in this community a number of times and I have
frequently thought that here was the best place in the world
to study the science and art of nation-building in the field. My
subject is Political Economy, sometimes called the science of
statesmanship. Some things pertaining to this subject we can
get out of books, but it seems to me that here is the one place
in the world where we can see in operation, in the field itself,
the processes going on under which a great nation is built. If
"By their fruits ye shall know them," as your President has said,
the "Mormons" must be a great people, for their fruits are
good. I have not only been impressed, in several visits, by what
EDITORS' TABLE 737
is to be seen in this immediate neighborhood. It has also been
my privilege to visit some of the smaller communities in the
southern part of the state and some in central Idaho; and in
the small communities, as well as in the large, I have seen in
operation the science and the art of community-building, which
is nation-building in miniature, and everywhere it has my un-
bounded admiration.
I did not know what I was going to say when I got up. I
have often had this in my mind, and I am very glad, now that
it is over with, that I have had the opportunity of saying it.
Though I was very much scared at first, I am very glad that
I have had the privilege of saying what I have often thought.
Walter E. Clark
(President of the. University of Nevada)
The world has made much advance in mechanical things,
during our recorded race history. It has made relatively small
advance in spiritual things. Your fathers in a marvelous pio-
neer pilgrimage came into this valley, and with their hands
builded here a perfect temple, that the souls might open in
this temple towards the spiritual power, and, perhaps, in larger
and larger measure, be imbued with that power from above. It
is my belief and strong hope that in the years just ahead men
are going to illuminate life in spiritual terms; that just as they
have, within these twenty-five years, on the mechanical side,
touched that marvelous thing we call radium and learned that
it gives fifty million times the energy of other substances science
has been handling, so there lies within us, if we will but open
our souls and receive the endowment that freely has always
been offered, many, many times the spirit power men
have known. Mjy impress from the hours I have had in your
city is that this people are holding their souls open, and the
great Giver of life and power will answer their prayers.
Charles A. Lory
(President of the Agricultural College of Colorado)
Friends and neighbors of Utah, this is not the first time
I have had the privilege of being in this wonderful Tabernacle
of yours, but it is the first time I have ever had the honor and
privilege of speaking to so many of you at this place. We were
entertained here in a splendid way when the Rotarians were
here about three years ago; and all the memories we have of
you people, of your Church, of your Tabernacle, of this won-
derful city, are altogether good and on the positive side. Those
of us who are charged with the work of education and with the
738 IMPROVEMENT ERA
•
work of building forward our civilization, cannot help but ad-
mire the work that you are doing. As a young man, it was my
privilege, first, to get acquainted with folks like you in Northern
Wyoming; and as a young man, I must confess that I carried
all the prejudice of certain young men regarding you and your
beliefs. In all fairness I must say that those prejudices were
altogether wrong, that I found you altogether different, and so
far as my experience goes with the pioneer "Mormon" citizens
of northern Wyoming, altogether good. In all fairness, also, I
must confess that the training I there got has helped me, as
much as any course I ever took, in trying to carry out my duties
as an educator in your neighboring State to the East. No one
can be here at a gathering like this without being impressed
with the wonder of what it means, to ever community here
represented.
I listened with interest to President Grant's statement about
your sugar industry. We also have a sugar industry, but, Presi-
dent Grant, ours was not as fortunate as yours, because I am
afraid our farmers are going to lose heavily through the loss of
one of their independent companies. I have listened to the
report of the development of your work and of your members,
and certainly everyone here has cause to be gratified for the
progress that you are making.
We are privileged to work with the "Mormon" settlers in
Southern and Southwestern Colorado. We know their worth and
we always go to those sections with a great deal of enthusiasm,
because we know what is being done. I feel that the time is
here when, as President Clark has said, we must build spirit-
uality. The curve that represents the growth of spirituality is
rather a flat one; the curve that represents the increase in
wealth, the increase in material knowledge, is rather a. steep
one; and, somehow, we must learn to do as you are doing; carry
our religion into our day's work — not religion on one day only,
but religion on seven days, and every hour of the twenty-four.
I count it a privilege to add my testimony to the work that you
are doing. I count it a privilege that I am permitted, as a
laborer in the vineyard, to carry forward the work of education.
I count it a privilege to tell you that your people in Colorado
are doing their part well. They are good neighbors and they
are helping us in a work that we count highly important, a piece
of work that you are doing and doing well in Utah, namely, sup-
planting the "little red school house" by a better school house,
usually a -consolidated school, where better opportunities can be
given to the country children, a work that has placed, in the
last ten years, something like thirty-six thousand children in
consolidated schools and brought high school facilities to some-
EDITORS' TABLE 739
thing like six thousand children who had no such school fa-
cilities before; and best of all, a work that is resulting in the
formation of a community church where men and women of
many different sects and faiths could gather in one place un-
der one organization, to worship God. May your work prosper.
Messages from the Missions
From Oklahoma
Alice E. Brewer and Ida Mortensen, laboring in Miami, Oklahoma,
write under date of March 9: "The missionaries laboring in this district
are C. H. Rosell, Salt Lake City; Ida Mortensen, El Frida, Arizona; and
Alice E. Brewer, Henefer, Utah. We enjoy our labors very much in this
place and in the surrounding mining district. There are many good people
here, and we believe it to be a very fruitful field. We enjoy the Era very
much."
A, Great Concert in Balboa Park
The southern California Latter-day Saints' choir gave a concert, April
30, at Balboa Park, San Diego, which marked a highly important epoch in
the history of the mission. They sang the sacred Cantata by Evan Stephens,
"The Vision," under the leadership of Wm, C. Salt before an audience of
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EDITORS' TABLE
741
over 10,000 people. Thousands came and returned because it was im-
possible to get within hearing distance. The picture shows the choir while
singing and the great organ and a part of the multitude in Balboa Park.
The singing was superior to any previous rendition and the applause re-
ceived was correspondingly great. The accompaniment from the great or-
gan added impressiveness to the singing, and the vast audience was an
inspiration to the singers. The concert was given free and no contribu-
tions were accepted. Over 5,000 pamphlets, "The Prophet's Own Story"
were distributed. The San Diego newspapers had heralded the event for
days. In response to the request of President Melvin Freebairn of the
San Diego conference, the city commissioners had gladly placed the
Spreckels organ pavilion in the Balboa Park at the disposal of this famous
choir. The organ is the largest open-air pipe organ in the world. Elder
Alexander F. Shreiner, the noted young Utah musician, who is on a mis-
sion in California, presided at the console during the concert. — Condensed
from a report of Secretary Rulon H. Cheney to the "Era."
A New Meeting House to be Erected
President R. M. Pugmire, of the Minnesota conference, reports, under
date of March 22, a conference held on February 25 and 26, and that the
elders are feeling well in their work. The force of laborers is continually
growing smaller, and hence, the greater duty devolving upon those who
remain. The three branches in the Minnesota conference are flourishing.
The Minneapolis people are working hard to realize their hopes in the
building of a meetinghouse which they contemplate to do this summer.
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Missionaries, left to right, first row: W. K. Fahr, Canadian Mission,
released; N. N. Probst, president Wisconsin conference; Hilda N. Knudsen,
representative of N. S. mission Relief Society; Winslow F. Smith, Presi-
dent Northern States mission; Bertha Thurgood, representative of N. S.
mission, Relief Society; R. M. Pugmire, president Minnesota conference.
Second row: J. P. Mork, Hedwig Maurer, Myrtle Thorp, transferred
to Wisconsin conference; Minnette McArthur, E. E. Beck, transferred to
Wisconsin conference; H. M. Groesbeck.
742
IMPROVEMENT ERA
Third row: Fred Hofer, released; Samuel Park, C. A. Lundell, L. C.
Rueckert, released; C. E. Johnson, William Ruitenbeck.
Fourth row: L. A. Dalley, E. A. Evans, R. E. Parmer, Ross Gowans,
J. M. Jackson, J. O. Jensen, Canadian mission released.
Laboring in the Town of the First Swedish Convert
Elder Adolph Soderberg, of the Gefle branch, Stockholm conference,
Sweden, writing under date of March 7, reports that the town in which
he is laboring is a noted landmark in the history of the Scandinavian mis-
sion. It is the place where the first baptism was performed. Peter Adolph
Forsgreen was baptized in June, 1850, by his brother who was one of the
company of elders arriving with Erastus Snow to open up the Scandinavian
mission. He proceeds: "The work is now progressing here nicely, but
we are handicapped by the lack of elders. This conference includes the
whole northern half of Sweden, with but five elders doing the work, three
of whom are located in this branch. Elders Karl S. Foss, Salt Lake City;
Andrew P. Anderson, Hooper, Utah, are laboring in the Dalarane branch.
Elders in the picture are, left to right, Conference President Mathias
Erickson, Salina; Fred Thedell, Ogden, and Adolph Soderberg, Salt Lake
City. We are regular readers of the Improvement Era, appreciate its good
instructions, and wish it continued success."
Baptisms in Hamburg Conference
Opposite is a picture of the local Priesthood of the four branches
in Greater Hamburg of the Hamburg conference. Included in the group
are six missionaries who had just arrived from Zion on their way to the
Swiss and German mission.
0
Q
* s«!^|i **•*§■**»
744 IMPROVEMENT ERA
I am pleased to report that the work in Hamburg is progressing, a
new branch having just recently been started, making five in this city,
although the last is not organized and the meetings are under the direc-
tion of the presidency of the other branches. The brethren here shown,
along with several o.hers not shown, in most cases, are very actively en-
gaged in the cause, officiating as officers or teachers of the various organ-
izations. Regular and systematic block teaching is carried on, and in
addition the brethren (and the sisters, too) often spend their spare mo-
ments in distributing tracts from door to door and thus assisting the mis-
sionaries. Five baptisms have been performed so far this year in one
branch, and several more will be performed as soon as the weather gets
warmer. We are looking forward to baptizing at least 60 people this
year in Greater Hamburg, and over 200 in the Hamburg conference.
We enjoy getting the Improvement Era and reading the reports from
the other missions, and therefore, feel that a little news from the best
mission in the world would be of interest to our fellow laborers in the
other fields.
Missionaries left to right, seated: Julius Behresn, Wilhelm Kallsen,
Willy Landvater, Carl Brey, president of the Hamburg-St. George branch;
Conference President John H. Zenger, Salt Lake; former Conference
President Alfons Finck; Emil Geist, presiding Hambui g-Wandsbek branch;
William H. Linck, Salt Lake; Paul Haase, Alfred Muller, president Ham-
burg-Hamm branch; Frany Jacobi.
First row standing: Robert Menssen, August Stock, Heinrich Steffien,
Sr., Heinrich Knopf, Theo. Veerhaarn, Joachim Jabs, Martin Bergmann,
Karl Klug, Oscar Bock, Franz Luhmann, Johannes Gurtler, William Linde,
Werner Linde.
Second row: Fred. Juhrs, Richard Fick, Hans Gurtler, Johann Klein,
Elwood Winters, Salt Lake; Julius Leisz, Karl Jeerken, Josef Littke, Fred.
Kruger, Geo. H. Schmidt, Salt Lake; Carl Timm, Jr., Carl Vollmer, Elmer
Anderson, Weiser, Idaho; Willie Doring, Horst Scharffs, Ernst Steinfeldt,
Sandy, Utah; Orson W. Kasteler, Salt Lake; Richard Pruss, Karl Koch,
Johannes Harms.
Third row: Karl Kahler, Emil Koch, Otto Schlohs, Richard Bauer,
Adolph Egarter, Willard S. Miller, Salt Lake; Otto Lendt, Kurt Jahn,
Joseph N. McRae, Salt Lake. — John H. Zenger.
Intended Evil Doing Unintended Good
Photo of the elders of the Leeds conference, British mission. They
are, left to right, back row: W. McCracken Smith, Smithfield; Lester
W. Fray, Morgan, Utah; Grant P. Geddes, Banida, Idaho; Joel A. Smith,
Holbrook, Idaho. Front row: M. Grant Prisbrey, St. George; William
Naylor, Boun'iful; Aaron P. Leishman, Wellsville; Harry S. Stoker, con-
ference president, Lehi; Andrew T. Jacobsen, Salt Lake City, Utah; and
Grant Y. Anderson, Malad City, Idaho. The work here is porgressing
favorably. During the past year with the return of the missionaries from
Zion, things have taken on a more pleasant and brighter aspect. Just at
present we are experiencing another of the periodical persecutions of the
press and pulpit, and this week the screen is being used to best advantage
by our adversaries, showing a picture, called "Trapped by the 'Mormons,' "
adapted from Winifred Graham's tale, "The Love Story of a 'Mormon.' "
Needless to say the intended evil is doing us unintended good, for many
are enquiring after the truth. It is surprising though that in this day
of supposed enlightenment such a large percentage of the public prove to
be so gullible that they are duped by such far-fetched lies as Winifred
EDITORS' TABLE
745
Graham is capable of concocting. With all their lies and railing ac-
cusations, and despite the opinions of men, the gospel is true, will con-
tinue to be the only plan of salvation, and in the end truth will pre-
vail. All the missionaries appreciate very much the Era and its monthly
editions help to lend the home atmosphere to the field. It keeps us well
versed in the progress of the Mutuals and the activities abroad. — Andrew
T. Jacobsen, Clerk of the Leeds conference.
The Workers in Texas
Elder Thomas M. Rees, writing from El Paso, Texas, April 10, re-
ports that the picture herewith represents the elders and li.dy missionaries
laboring with the English speaking people under the direction of Presi-
dent Rey L. Pratt of the Mexican mission. Their field of labor com-
prises the city of El Paso and the country district about fifty miles each
way up and down the Rio Grande river.
"Back row, left to right:
Jacob A. Hancock, Eden,
Arizona; Thomas M. Rees, Salt
Lake City; front, Clara Huber,
Midway; May Nielsen, Hyrum,
Utah.
"El Paso is located in the
extreme corner of Texas. All
four of the missionaries are
comparatively new arrivals. El-
der Hancock's home burned
down a few weeks after his ar-
rival here, necessitating his re-
turning home. Notwithstand-
ing our difficulties, we feel
that some result will follow
our efforts, and are encouraged
to press on in the work."
PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS' TABLE
Tithing — A Law of Promise
Spiritual Growth and Temporal Blessings
Slogan for 1922: Every Member a Tithepayer
There is great opportunity for unusual happiness and prosperity among
the Latter-day Saints through obedience to the law of tithing. The mad
rush for pleasure in the world and the prevalence of crime and immorality
emphasize the great need of spiritual strength and growth. Indebtedness
among the people, caused largely by the high cost of living, extravagance
and business readjustment, has brought about a need for temporal pros-
perity. Both of these much desired conditions, spiritual growth and pros-
perity, will come from adopting and living up to the slogan: "Every
Member a Tithepayer," through observance of the law of tithing.
The Promise: "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord
of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out
a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi
3:10. The Lord also promises that if the people observe this law and keep
it holy, and thereby sanctify the land unto him, that his statutes and
judgments may be kept thereon, that it shall be most holy, it shall be a
land of Zion unto his people. (Revelation on tithing. Doc. and Cov.
119.) "Will a man rob God? But ye say wherein have we robbed thee?
In tithes and offerings." Malachi 3:8.
How to become worthy of the blessing: For those who have neglected
this requirement, Now is the time to begin. No one should claim ex-
emption, but should see that he is among the tithepayers, for how can
he expect the blessing if he fails to obey the law? Of our income, one
tenth belongs to the Lord. We should not retain the Lord's tenth in our
possession. If this settlement is not made right at the time, surely it
should not be neglected longer than until the end of the month. Such a
monthly settlement would greatly help' in the payment of tithing, and
would be a more strict compliance with the law than to delay longer.
As soon as we fulfil the requirement we are entitled to the blessing.
Through neglect or delay in the payment of tithes the law is disobeyed,
we cannot lay claim to the promised blessings and we may lose them al-
together. We cannot buy our way through tithes into God's kingdom,
neither can we receive the higher gospel privileges without strict observ-
ance of this law. The sacred portals of the temples of the Lord are
deservedly closed to the non-tithepayer. Only the faithful are the elect
of God, and this law is a test of faithfulness. It is an excellent anchor.
"There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation
of the world, upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we ob-
tain any blessing from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it
is predicated." Doc. and Cov. 130:20, 21.
How to observe the law: It is not difficult to calculate the interest
due on borrowed money, or the taxes levied on property. It should not
be difficult to decide just what belongs to the Lord. He has given us
intelligence, strength of mind and body. These are the talents which he
has entrusted to our care and for our use. One tenth of the increase or
income in temporal things which come to us we are to bring to the Lord's
storehouse. A father who receives the entire income of the family might
well consider if there is any part on which each member of the house-
PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS' TABLE 747
hold might pay a tithe, that the mother and each child might thus be more
abundantly given the blessings and privileges promised. Even the widow
and those otherwise dependent if they pay to the Lord a tenth of the
charity which may be given them, though it is but a "widow's mite," will be
as much entitled to receive the fulness of the promised blessing as the
wealthy tithepayer whose tenth amounts to large sums. There should be
no "non-tithepayers" in the Church of Christ. Every Latter-day Saint,
therefore, should accept and do his part in carrying out the slogan: "Every
member a tithepayer," and to pay promptly upon receipt of any and all
income.
The Law of Tithing Emphasized: Just iwenty-three years ago (May
17, 1899), at St. George, the Lord emphasized the revelation on tithing
through President Lorenzo Snow. The promise was made to the people
that if they would begin at once and thenceforth continue the payment
of an honest tithe that all their past neglect in this matter would be for-
given. The Latter-day Saints accepted the word of the Lord and paid
tithing with full purpose of heart. They were relieved of their individual
indebtedness. The obligations of the Church were all paid, and a marvel-
ous period of peace and prosperity followed. Present conditions appear
to call for another such awakening.
Reaping the Fruits: The result of this strict obedience to the tithing
law will be a more sure anchorage in the faith, increase in spirituality,
and added strength in overcoming the temptation with which Satan is con-
stantly surrounding us. Through our honest tithes we will sanctify the
land unto the Lord, that it will become most holy, and in truth be a land
of Zion unto us. The windows of heaven will be opened, and choice
blessings will be poured out. Prosperity and happiness will be the lot
of the Latter-day Saints largely in the degree in which they observe this
law of God.
"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not
destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit
before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts." — Malachi 3:10, 11.
Also Book of Mormon, HI Nephi 24-10, 11.— 5.
Celebration of the Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood
By proclamation of Presidents Heber J. Grant, Charles W. Penrose,
and Anthony W. Ivins, First Presidency of the Church, the great event
of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood was celebrated this year on
Sunday, May 14, in all the wards of the Church. This was the 93rd an-
niversary of its restoration, which took place on the 15th of May, 1829.
The event was celebrated by having the Aaronic Priesthood take charge
of the Sacramental meetings in each ward on that date. A suitable pro-
gram had been prepared in most wards by direction of the bishops, in
which it was provided that priests, teachers and deacons should conduct
the meeting and render the program. This consisted chiefly in appropriate
exercises commemorative of the wonderful restoration of the Aaronic
Priesthood. The exercises were an agreeable surprise in most instances.
The young brethren who had been called to render them, acquitted them-
selves in a masterful way, giving evidence that the young men of the
Church are not lacking in a knowledge of the gospel, the importance and
value of the Priesthood. The programs given in the wards included also
remarks by the young brethren on "Mother" and "Mothers' Day." It is
designed that the celebration of the Aaronic Priesthood shall be held
annually by the Lesser Priesthood quorums, and this is a movement which
will find hearty response in all parts of the Church. It might be per-
missable to offer the suggestion, however, that it would be better not to
748 IMPROVEMENT ERA
»
connect it with "Mother's Day," since either subject is important and
extensive enough to be entitled to the full time of a meeting. — A.
Ordaining Deacons
Much interest has lately been awakened in the method of ordaining
young men to the Lesser Priesthood. The details adopted by some of the
bishops in the Granite stake is very effective. When the teachers dis-
cover a young man in their district who is worthy of ordination they re-
port to the bishopric. A letter is then written by the bishop to the
young man, informing him that it has been suggested to the bishopric that
he is worthy of being ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. The letter
calls his attention to the important step that he is about to take, and the
sacredness of the calling with which he is about to be honored. He is
impressed with the honor and privilege that the ordination implies. He
is asked to report to the bishopric in writing just how he feels with ref-
erence to this advancement, and to the Lord's work in general. He is
asked to talk the matter over with his parents. Then to inform the bishop
in writing not only of his own thoughts concerning the matter, but of how
his parents feel regarding the new step he is about to take. A date is
set at which the bishopric would like to meet with him to talk over to-
gether this great and important step in his life. Following are selections
from the earnest replies that have come from the young men:
"I wish to be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood which I feel will
be a great honor to me. I shall always try to do the will of the Lord as
those over me in the Church direct me to do. My parents are pleased and
glad to see me go ahead."
"Replying to your letter I wish to state my parents and myself are
very well pleased in my having the privilege of being advanced in the
Aaronic Priesthood. It has been my desire since early childhood to do
everything that is within my power for the advancement of the work of
the Lord when called upon by those in authority. I promise you brethren
that- 1 will do my best to assist you at all times."
And another, "It greatly pleases me that I have been found worthy of
being ordained a priest. I will endeavor to fulfil this position to the
best of my ability. My parents are glad that the time has come when I
can receive this office. I thank you and hope I will always remain worthy
of having this office."
"I received your letter today pertaining to my advancement in the
Aaronic Priesthood. I have given the matter prayerful consideration and
have talked it over with father and mother. They would both be pleased
to have me advance. I have tried to do my duties as a deacon, and would
do all in my power to fill the calling of a teacher."
"It gives me great pleasure to know that I have been found worthy
to take the first s.ep in the Priesthood and to become a deacon, and if
this honor is given me I shall endeavor to do those things that will help
me to carry on the Lord's work, advancing and fulfiling the duties re-
quired, and thereby be worthy of each step."
"I received your letter yesterday and was pleased to find that my
name had been recommended to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. I talked
to my parents and find that they are both anxious to have me do my duty
in the Church to which we belong. If I am privileged to hold the Priest-
hood, I will try in every way I can to do what is required of me."
Then follows the presentation before the Priesthood and the congre-
gation of the ward, and the ordination as set forth in the pamphlet "Prep-
aration, Ordination, and Training of Young Men" as outlined in the in-
PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS' TABLE 749
struction of the Presiding Bishopric. (See Improvement Era, January and
February, 1922.)— ,4.
A Separate Class for Each Order of the Aaronic Priesthood
Young men should be given opportunity to progress through the three
orders of the Aaronic Priesthood, deacon, teacher and priest, without
missing any of them. The hope of becoming worthy of promotion to the
next higher office in the priesthood should inspire faithfulness among
those who hold this divine authority. The priesthood plan is one of
development through progressive advancement. There may not be per-
fect development if any of these steps are omitted.
"While in these offices members should be instructed and trained in
the particular duties of each order. If a teacher meets with the priests,
or a priest with the elders' class they will not get the instruction in their
own offices and the effect will be much the same as if they had not held
these orders in the priesthood. If there is but one ordained teacher in
a ward it is as necessary for him to receive the special training in his
office as if he were in a ward with twenty teachers.
Where separate classes are not held the excuse is often made that
there are too few to meet separately. The Presiding Bishopric have in-
structed that "The Bishop is to preside over the Priests, and sit with
them in council and teach them their duties. Another member of the
Bishopric should take charge of the Teachers, supervise and direct their
labors and activities, and the other counselor should take charge of the
Deacons in the same manner."
In harmony with the above instructions, there is not a ward so small
but that separate classes should be held even though there might be but
one deacon, one teacher and one priest in the ward. No member of the
Aaronic priesthood should be deprived of the special training in his
office and it is hardly proper that while holding one order he should be
required to meet with and be instructed in the duties of an office which
he does not hold. It is far better that a class leader instruct but one
young man in his particular calling than that the young man be deprived
of the development which the Lord has provided for him in the priest-
hood plan. — LeRoi C. Snow.
A Good Place for Learning Leadership
The Summer session at the Brigham Young University will be held
from June 5 to August 25. There will be two terms; the second to com-
mence on July 14. This term will include a series of courses in natural
science that will be held at Aspen Grove in Provo canyon. The enroll-
ment in this school will be limited to 50 students and four professors. The
forenoons will be given to lecture and study while the afternoon will be
devoted to field work and laboratory study. Some of the most prominent
educators in Utah will constitute the faculty during the first term which
will be held at the regular campus of the University. Among the visiting
lecturers will be Prof. Chas. E. Rich of the University of California, and
Dr. Edward T. Devine of New York City, an eminent scholar prominent
as a teacher and sociologist.
The Annual Conference of the Y. M. and Y. L. M. I. A.
Time of Meetings
Friday, June 9
Joint officers' meeting, Assembly Hall, 10 a. m.
Separate Y. M. M. I. A. officers' meeting, Tabernacle, 2 p. m.
Separate Y. L. M. I. A. officers' meeting for stake officers or stake repre-
sentatives, Assembly Hall, 2 p. m.
M. I. A. Social at Saltair, leave Saltair depot after 4 p. m.
Saturday, June 10
Separate Y. M. M. I. A. officers meeting, Tabernacle, 9a.m.
Junior Department. Regular session 10 a. m.
Senior delegates and Senior teachers only, departmental meeting, 10 a. m.
All other officers will attend the regular session of the Junior Depart-
ment.
Senior Department Regular Session, 2 p. m.
Junior and Boy Scout leaders only, departmental meeting, 2 p. m. All
other officers will attend the regular session of the Senior Department.
Separate Y. L. M. I. A. officers' meeting, Assembly Hall, 9, 10 and 11 a. m.
Separate Y. L. M. I. A. officers' meeting, Assembly Hall, 3 p. m.
Joint meeting, 8 o'clock p. m., Assembly Hall, Temple Block.
Sunday, June 11
Joint officers' testimony meeting, Assembly Hall, 8:30 — 9:50 a. m.
Joint officers' meeting, Assembly Hall, 10 a. m.
General session, Tabernacle, 2 p. m., under the direction of the First
Presidency of the Church.
General Session, Tabernacle, 7:30 p. m. "Processional" representing the
Primary and Mutual Improvement Associations.
The program has been carefully prepared and will be a source of
inspiration to Mutual officers who attend. A verse from the Scriptures
will be read at each meeting following the reading of the Slogan for 1922-23,
"We stand for a pure life through clean thought and action." The Junior,
the Senior, and the Advanced Senior departments will all be carefully
provided for. and a new feature is the departmental meetings of the Senior
leaders and delegates; and the departmental session of the Junior and
B!>y Scout leaders. The M. I. A. Scout band, John Held, director, . will
play sacred music at the Sunday evening meeting. This band has made
splendid progress and is a credit to the Mutual Improvement organiza-
tion. A new program for the Seniors will be presented; and altogether,
the conference promises to be one of the most important and interesting
ever held.
Law Enforcement Week
With the consent of the General Authorities of the Church, the week
of June 18, has been set aside for use by slake and ward authorities and
MUTUAL WORK 751
auxiliary organizations for presenting the subject of obedience to law, to
the people.
Following is a suggestive program for the sacrament services Sunday
June 18:
Regular Sunday Service Program
Have one or two speakers, especially qualified and prepared, occupy
the time between opening and closing exercises on the following sug-
gstive topics:
I. The Meaning of Loyalty to our Government.
A. Our part in making the laws.
B. Our obligation to obey the laws and to assist public officers in
enforcing them.
C. How respect for law is undermined by widespread tendency to
disobey law.
D. How stable government is dependent upon both respect for and
obedience to law. Examples:
1. General success of popular government in Great Britain and
her self-governing colonies, and in the U. S. A. 2. General
failure, thus far, of popular government in Mexico and some
other Latin American countries. 3. The reasons for this dif-
ference. 4. The great present danger of growing lawlessness
in Great Britain and America.
II. Current Problems in Law Enforcement.
A. The special benefits to be derived from enforcement of the fol-
lowing laws:
1. Quarantine. 2. Curfew. 3. Prohibition. 4. Law forbidding to-
bacco to minors and the anti<cigarette law. 4. Anti-gambling
laws. 6. Anti-speeding laws, i. e., traffic laws.
M. I. A. Program-
Each auxiliary organization will present a program along similar lines
at their regular meeting during the week beginning June 18. The M. I. A.
joint suggestive program follows, and should be given on Mutual evening,
June 20 ; or, where wards meet Sundays, on Sunday evening, June 18.
Opening song, "America." Invocation. Solo, "The Flag Without a
Stain."
Reading, "Columbus," by Miller.
Ameiica — A Land Choice Above all other Lands. 10 min. Song, "Co-
lumbia, the Gem of the Ocean."
Our Inspired Constitution — the Supreme Law of the Land. 10 min.
Reading, Holland's, "God Give us Men."
The Meaning of Good Cilizenship in a Republic. 10 min. Concert
recitation — 12th Article of Faith.
Obedience to Law — the life of the Republic. 10 min. Instances of Dis-
regard for Law: a. Prohibition, b. Anti-tobacco, c. Games of chance,
d. Present-day forms of lawlessness.
Reading, Longfellow's "Ship of State."
"Star Spangled Banner."
Benediction.
God Give us Men
God give us men! A time like this demands
S":rorg minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands.
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
752 IMPROVEMENT ERA
;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking;
For while the rabble with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps.
The Building of the Ship
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(Third stanza)
Thou, too, sail on, O ship of State!
Sail on, 0 Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workman wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat,
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
'Tis of the wave and not the rock;
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale.
In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Are all with thee — are all with thee!
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee — are all with thee!
Back to the Primitive
The automobile, strangely enough, is the link which connects the
sophisticated city with what is left of the primitive. In this the automo-
bile has taken the place of that romantic and uncertain means of loco-
motion— the western cowpony and his constant associate, the buckboard.
This substitution has become necessary on account of the encroachment
of civilization upon the last strongholds of the wild.
Last summer I took my first trip with fathers and sons, in company
with my own boys. We mounted an automobile and with the speed of
modernity were whisked over mountain passes, between miles and miles
of fruitful fields, past the very edge of civilization as I knew it when a
boy, through other miles of pioneer farms where the coyote and the sage
hen were the chief settlers but a few years ago, on to Blackfoot river; and
then on, still on, through narrows and valleys until at last we arrived in
Wooley valley, the synonym of the wild. In a few hours we had traversed
distances that required days of weary jogging with a pack-train or a sheep
wagon.
We camped on Diamond Creek, a little stream so far east that we
MUTUAL WORK
ffl
A delightful camping place among the pines and aspens
hardly knew whether we should be safe with an Idaho license, and so
high that we did not know whether to expect snow or rain from the.
clouds that hovered over the pine-clad peaks. Even here, however, the
"Mormon" homemaker had preceded us, for there, tucked away in a little
cove, we found a log house with children playing about the door, while
across the mountain meadow stretched a perfectly, real and modern wire
fence.
We found a delightful camping place among the pines and aspens
where the scorching sun could never find us out, and where the incongru-
ous automobile m"ght be hidden from view.
The boys were wild with joy, and even the "older" boys had a sort
A camp on the Big Blackfojt River
754 IMPROVEMENT ERA
of a tremolo in the voice when they glanced across the enchanting valley
upon which the hand of man, as yet, had been laid but lightly.
One wonderful day we camped on Diamond Creek in the very heart
of the wild. The crystal water bubbling up looked like handfulls of dia-
monds strewn upon the creamy velvet sands. The Nimrods brought in
wild chickens and fish until all the company were banqueted at their
primitive tables.
The outing was under the direction of the Young Men's Mutual Im-
provement Association of Oneida stake. Several members of the stake
board proved to be well acquainted wilh and lovers of the great out-
doors, essential qualifications, I determined, of the leaders of young men.
On the way home all stopped at the Hooper Springs, one of the best
soda springs in the country and had sweet draughts of the ice-cold bev-
erage fresh from the sparkling fountain.
Even yet, there is something exhilarating about a trip to the prim-
itive where men and boys meet in the big open under the arching skies,
where sham and pretense and veneer are laid aside and man is man and
boy is boy. — H. R. Merrill.
M. I. A. and Sunday School Conventions in Arizona
Preceding the Arizona Conference, held at Douglas on April 28-30,
Gustive O. Larson conducted a series of M. I. A. and Sunday School con-
ventions throughout the Arizona conference, beginning at Tucson and
Binghampton, on April 23 with a full day session. Following the Tucson
convention the Superintendent accompanied by conference president Marion
A. Condie, visited Pomerene, St. David, Bisbee, Whitewater and Douglas,
holding special M. I. A. and Sunday School officers and teachers' meet-
ings and general public meetings in the interests of these organizations.
At Bisbee, Elder Larson was invited to speak at the funeral services of
Brother Al. Kempton conducted by the Elk's Lodge. Brother Kempton
was a prominent citizen of Bisbee and surrounding country, and the Elk's
hall was crowded to capacity, offering a splendid opportunity for deliv-
ering the truths of the gospel to hundreds unacquainted with "Mormon"
doctrine. The Arizona organizations are thriving, not only growing in
numbers but keeping well up to the standards se: by the General Boards
of these organizations.
Mutual Improvement Work in the Hawaiian Mission
From the annual report of the Hawaiian mission of the M-.- I. A., we
learn that George A. Bowles is the superintendent, that therer are 2% as-
sociations, 170 officers, 441 Advanced Seniors enrolled, 317 Seniors"^ -448
Juniors, making a total of 1,436 enrolled. The average attendance is 131
officers and instructors, 259 Advanced Seniors, 213 Seniors, 295 Juniors, a
total of 938. There are three members on missions. Nine hundred sev-
enty-nine meetings were held altogether, and 755 members actually took
part in M. I. A. activi ies. In Honolulu there are 15 registered scouts, and
10 doing scout work who are not registered; and in Laie there are 27
scouts registered. The annual Conference of the Church was he$d at
Laie, Oahu, on April 6-10, at which time the auxiliary organizations as
well as the Church carried out an elaborate program of exercises of ex-
treme interest. The M. I. A. held several sessions and likewise contests.
There were public speaking, story telling, quartette singing, stringed
quartette, orchestral sextette, and other events. Upon adding the points
made by each conference, out of a possible 100, the following was a re-
sult: Honolulu, 57%; Hilu, 17%; West Maiu, 17%; Kauai, 7%. Honolulu
MUTUAL WORK
755
won the pennant. Each individual winner was given a subscription to the
Improvement Era or Young Woman's Journal; the former to the young
men; the latter to the young women. A total of 69 contestants participated.
A spirit of friendly rivalry existed which stimulated effort, and the con-
test was a wonderful opening up of the talents and possibilities among
the young Hawaiian people. The texts for the various classes were decided
upon for the coming year as follows: Advanced Senior, Genealogical Les-
sons, a book just translated and published by the Polynesian Genealogical
Association, under the direction of William M. Waddoups; Seniors, 1918,
Y. M. M. I. A. Manual, "The Church as an Organization for Social Ser-
vice;" Juniors, Religion Class outline, 1919, 5th and 6th grades; Inter-
mediate Juniors, Religion Class Outlines, 1919, 3rd and 4th grades; Pri-
mary class, Religion Class outlines, first and second grades. The 23 con<
ferences throughout the mission prepared for the interbranch contest at
the annual Conference to determine who should represent the conference
in the mission contests. Altogether the M. I. A., which consists of both
the young men and the young ladies in the Hawaiian mission, are to be
congratulated upon the activities which they have engaged in. President
Wesley E. Smith is taking a great personal interest in the M. I. A. work
there.
Y. M. M
. I. A. STATISTICAL REPORT FOR APRIL,
1922
STAKES
V
-OT3
V
2=3
i-a
E «
■
u
■a o
6 j:
o c
c
.2 E
c
.2 E
c —
<
o > 5
2 rtJS
ii
ii u
.2 ™«S
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<
5£
E*
s
> u
T3 O
<B
II
C/2
V o
en £
w
O
H
1^
<•§<
u
<
3 > 5
<
O
H
Alberta
345
11
10
174
190
151
515
98
109
93
300
Bear River
509
13
13
326
132
171
629
307
129
163
599
Benson
760
13
13
250
355
340
945
106
174
210
490
Box Elder
770
13
12
340
256
317
913
203
148
173
524
Deseret
398
10
9
213
106
136
455
70
72
84
226
Hyrum
500
10
10
189
151
200
540
120
165
135
420
Kanab
210
7
5
124
63
86
273
50
41
47
138
Liberty
1041
11
11
407
331
421
1159
242
198
274
714
North Sanpe.e
802
13
5
103
104
69
276
40
39
34
113
North Weber..
626
16
14
104
218
191
513
55
110
92
257
Pioneer
933
160
14
9
5
6
104
139
87
66
161
74
352
279
34
34
38
30
81
29
153
Raft River
91
Roosevelt
315
10
10
111
129
134
374
56
73
87
216
Salt Lake
1026
12
12
285
253
379
917
143
155
236
534
San Juan
250
4
3
79
87
101
267
52
26
30
108
South Sanpete..
752
10
2
42
37
33
112
18
9
7
34
Wasatch
375
9
6
143
103
154
400
95
57
88
240
Weber
1040
14
14
325
365
389
1079
173
212
270
655
Bear Lake
384
11
11
157
158
187
502
61
75
95
231
Bingham
564
14
5
290
155
222
667
150
100
125
375
Blackfoot
474
9
8
259
89
125
473
153
59
81
293
181
147
6
10
6
2
108
19
64
46
77
33
249
98
75
8
. 40
30
35
25
150
Curlew
63
Franklin
473
10
8
144
163
143
450
64
80
76
220
Fremont
654
13
11
261
191
302
754
130
103
145
378
Idaho
218
12
7
83
50
81
214
55
31
46
132
Portneuf
300
12
11
33
184
115
332
15
112
82
209
?56
IMPROVEMENT ERA
M. I. A. STATISTICAL REPORT (Continued)
STAKES
Rigby ....
Shelley ..
Big Horn
Taylor ....
Union ....
576
349
289
325
148
T3 C
<
Cfl
53
171
118
172
95
.2 B
c —
V o
.2 6
§1
W
40
121
132
168
36
<
H
O
H
T)Jo
u > a
a<M
5 ^
rt u e
.£ 2 «
u u C
■2 «*
S u c
•n > "
«<5
o rt t«
S « G
£ > u
69
162
24
23
30
127
419
87
70
81
86
336
74
74
61
118
458
98
104
88
46
177
37
22
25
77
238
209
290
84
Y. M. M. I. A. EFFICIENCY REPORT FOR APRIL, 1922
STAKES
. E
3~
O O
0<J tn
« on
£*2|
u E
*.2£
u u
°.£H
en
15 H
Alberta
Bear River
Benson
Box Elder
Deseret
Hyrum
Kanab
Liberty
North Sanpete
Nor:h Weber..
Pioneer
Raft River
Roosevelt
Salt Lake
San Juan
South Sanpete..
Wasatch
Weber
Bear Lake
Bingham
Blackfoot
Cassia
Curlew
Franklin
Fremont
Idaho
Portneuf
Rigby i
Shelley
Big Horn...„.....
Taylor
Union
10
6
8
10
10
6
10
5
8
10
6
10
10
5
5
10
10
8
10
9
9
10
9
10
3
4
4
8
8
5
4
2
4
10
3
4
10
9
9
9
6
10
10
6
8
2
2
10
10
6
7
10
9
10
10
5
8
10
8
10
9
9
10
10
9
10
10
10
8
10
5
7
10
8
9
9
6
6
10
10
8
3
3
3
10
9
10
10
9
10
10
9
10
10
10
10
5
7
3
8
9
9
9
10
5
10
10
9
10
10
10
9
4
3
6
8
1
31
1
10 |
10
10 1
10
10
7
6
10
10
8
10
10
10
10
10
10
5
10
10
10
10
5
10
10
8
10
10
5
5
8
10
1
4
9
10
9
10
10
10
10
10
6
10
9
8
5
9
10
10
4
10
4
3
71
10
65
75
87
90
66
90
91
96
37
74
32
49
90
90
69
71
81
96
77
76
90
94
73
80
93
54
83
27
90
95
97
80
MUTUAL WORK 757
Duties of Social Correlation Committees
The duties of joint ward and stake social committees as far as recrea-
tion is concerned are as follows:
1. To see that sufficient recreation is provided the membership of the
Church.
2. To correlate the recreational activities of the various auxiliary or-
ganizations of the Church, and where necessary to determine and appor-
tion their recreational obligations.
3. To see that all recreational activities are conducted in a manner
compatible with the standards of the Church.
The Social Committees are not expected in any way to substitute the
auxiliary organizations or deprive them of their initiative to carry forward
recreational activities in their respective organizations. The various or-
ganizations, however, should submit all recreational plans to the Social
Committees for correlation purposes as above suggested.
Creed of the 171st Quorum of Seventy (Third and Eighth
wards, Liberty stake)
We recognize that the Seventy as organizations have been instituted
in the Church by Divine appointment.
We believe that there is a great need now in the Church for seventies,
seventies who are deep, clear thinkers, who have much intellectual develop-
ment and who have attained considerable Spiritual power, as well as being
versed in the scriptures, and having a correct knowledge of the gospel and
a heart full of love toward the children of men and the Kingdom of God.
We believe that a seventy should give to the Lord his heart, mind,
might and strength for the great cause. That this should be his foremost
ambition and that he should study the gospel and be prepared for useful
work at home and efficient service in the mission field abroad whenever
the call shall come.
We believe that every seventy should follow the injunction of the
Lord, "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord."
We believe that most seventies would like to be engaged in missionary
service abroad, but for various reasons they are denied this honor. One of
the most frequent and chief reasons is the lack of ready means, and so
we believe that our missionary fund should be enlarged from time to
time so that if any of our members need assistance, to go on a mission or
to sustain them while they are there, that we can materially assist and
thereby be in harmony with that fine spirit of the gospel: *T am my
brother's keeper."
Our intention is to meet together often in social functions through
quorum organization. We believe that by so doing we will know one an-
other better and love one another more.
We are most heartily in accord with that magnificent slogan of the
seventy adopted in 1907, "Mental activity, intellectual development, spirit-
ual attainment," as well as our own quorum slogan, "The saving of the souls
of the children of men."
We think that all seventies should contribute of their power to make
of the quorum an organization of power and influence for good. By so
cooperating with the constituted authorities, one another, and with the
Lord, untold power and blessings will come to our organization, the 171st
Quorum of Seventy. A membership therein is a call in the Priesthood to
honor and distinction, as special witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ.
|Ii I j , ■ I, |j-S. | i| *?. ' :.K-1 . j
President A. W. Ivins was appointed president of the L. D. S. Uni-
versity, May 10.
The battle of Kilkenny ended May 3, by the Irish Free State troops
capturing Ormond castle, held by the irregulars.
The water in the Lake has risen eight inches since March 1. Or-
dinarily the rise at this time of the year in six weeks is only six inches.
A threat of war was made by M. Poincare, the French premier, in a
speech at Bar-de-Duc, France, if the Germans default in their payment of
reparations, May 31.
Paul Deschanel died April 28, at Paris, of influenza. He was at one
time president of France, which position he resigned in September, 1920,
owing to poor health.
Arbor day, April 15, witnessed a big snow s.orm and the planting of
trees was generally postponed. The following day eight inches of snow
fell in Salt Lake City.
Mr. A. C. Keeley, manager of the Keeley Ice Cream Co., died April
11 at Passadena, Cal., after an illness of fourteen months. He came to
Salt Lake City in 1890.
Fire destroyed a school building at Huntington, Emery Co., April 12,
but the children were quickly formed in line and marched out without
panic. None was injured.
The eighteenth session of the Council of the League of Nations opened
at Geneva, May 10. It was presided over by Count Quinones de Leon,
Spanish ambassador to France.
A memorial library for President Charles W . Penrose has been proposed
by Dr. George H. Brimhall, in a letter sent out to prominent men and
women in the inter-mountain territory.
By an explosion of T. N. T. near Helper, Utah, considerable damage
was caused to buildings, and many persons were injured. The explosive
was used for road building across the river.
A world federation is the aim of Father Luigi Sturgo, leader of the
Italian Catholic party. He has been given a respectful hearing at Genoa,
though he is noi a delegate to the conference.
Mrs. Annie Woodhouse Candland, widow of David Candland, died at
Mt. Pleasant, April 14, of cancer. She was born in Adwick, Yorkshire,
England, Nov. 13, 1838, and came to America in 1850.
Mine guards and miners clashed at Scofield, Carbon Co., April 27.
Many shots were fired and three men were reported woundec. This is
said to be the first bloodshed of the present coal strike.
After twenty years on a mission, Elder "Wilford J. Cole, of Nephi, was
PASSING EVENTS 759
tendered a reception, on his arrival home, April 18. He had been employed
on the sugar plantation of the Church in the Hawaiian Islands.
Famine is predicted for 1923, by Sir William Beveridge, owing to un-
favorable weather conditions, he says, next year. Nature, the leading
scientific weekly in England regards the prediction as well founded.
William D. Funk, of Manti, died at his home there, April 10. He was
born at. Quincy, 111., Nov. 7, 1844, and came to Utah, with his parents in
1847. Funeral services were held in the Manti Tabernacle, April 14.
Governor Mabey's party left for Los Angeles, April 17, where they
took part in the observance of "Utah day" April 19. The party consisted
of thirteen persons. President Heber J. Grant was one of the number.
China has ratified the treaties) signed in Washington during the arma-
ment conference and also the Shantung treaty with Japan, negotiated at
the same time, according to word received by the Chinese legation, May 6.
Venus has a rotation of about the same speed as the earth, according
to an announcement made by Mr. Alfred Roredame in the March Popular
Astronomy. Mr. Roredame is a Salt Lake astronomer of world-wide recog-
nition.
Against the Ku Klux Klan, Kansas City enacted an ordinance, April
25, providing for a fine of $100, for appearing in public in a costume
concealing the identity of the wearer. Similar action was taken in Los
Angeles.
The first conference of the Church in Ireland, since that country be-
came a Free State, was held April 16, in Mill's Hall, Merrion Row, Dublin.
Elder Orson F. Whiney, president of the European mission was in at-
tendance.
The new chapel at Grantsville, Tooele, was dedicated April 23, by
Elder Rudger Clawson, of the Council of the Twelve. It has been erected
at the cost of $28,630, one-third of which was contributed from the general
Church funds.
The death of Mrs. Sallie Saunders, 92 years old, Lompoc, Calif., was
announced May 2. She was a sister of the youthful sweetheart of Abra-
ham Lincoln, Ann Rutledge, who died at the age of 16. Mrs. Saunders
had many Lincoln mementos.
Andrew Rosequist died May 4 in his home in Provo, of pneumonia.
He was born October 8, 1845, in Malmo, Sweden, and came to Utah in
Captain Home's ox teams company, and to Provo in 1912. He was a
veteran of the Blackhawk war.
Funeral services for Samuel Davenport, of Manti, who died April 19,
were held April 23, in the Manti tabernacle. He was a native of England,
born Nov. 18, 1845, and has been a resident of Manti since 1864. He was
a veteran of the Black Hawk war.
A son was born to Elder Heber Grant at Laie, Oahu, Hawaii, April
24. Elder Grant is a son of B. F. Grant, of the Dr. W. H. Groves
L. D. S. hospital, Salt Lake City. He and his wife have been in the
Hawaiian mission for about a year.
Resolutions of protest against anti" Mormon" slander in England, were
adopted, April 18, at a meeting at the Hotel Utah of the Defense League.
Officers of the organization were elected. The intention is to send the
resolutions broadcast in Great Britain.
760 IMPROVEMENT ERA
Funeral services for Patriarch James J. Chandler, Rigby, Idaho, were
held in the stake tabernacle, April 24, in the presence of a large audience.
He was a native of England, born July 16, 1849. He taught school in
Willard and other Utah towns for years, and was a prominent Church
worker.
A fearful tornado swept Austin, Texas, May 4, as a result of which
nine persons were reported dead, and thirty-eight injured two probably
fatally and property damage was estimated at $400,000. Following the
windstorm, came rain and hail, some of the hailstones being as large as
small eggs.
St. Johns stake presidency ums reorganized, April 30, by the appoint-
ment of Levi S. Udall as president and Jacob Hamblin and Le Roy Gibbons
counselors. President David K. Udall was honorably released. Charles
Whitney, Jr., was appointed bishop of Vernon ward, and Edwin L. Whiting,
bishop of St. Johns ward.
Henry Horsley died, May 6, at his home in Salt Lake City at the age
of 77 years. He was the oldest employe of the Utah Light and Traction
company, and on 3 of the first motormen of the company when the lines
were electrified. He drove one of the horse cars on the Salt Lake Street
railway in the early days.
Valuable coins. According to a newspaper article published April
16, one collector has paid $352 for a twenty-dollar gold piece struck by the
Deseret mint in 1849. The issue that year consisted of $20, $10, $5, and
$2.50 pieces. In 1850 and 1860 $5 pieces were again struck. There are
not many of these rare coins left.
Wm. Jennings Bryan offered $100, April 27, to any professor who can
harmonize the Bible with the teachings of evolutionists. He paid that
sum to Prof. R. C. Spangler, West Virginia University, for answering cer-
tain questions, because, he wrote, "It is worth $100 to me to see a college
professor guilty of cowardly evasion."
Richard Croker, formerly leader of Tammany Hall, New York, died
April 29 at Glencairn castle, Sandyford, a few miles from Dublin. His
wife was at the bedside. The former political leader spent the better part
of the last ten or twelve years in Ireland, where he owned extensive estates,
making occasional visits to the United States.
The First Presidency indorsed the censure of Arbuckle films, April
21, by asking Senator Reed Smoot by wire to express to Will H. Hays,
head of the American Moving Picture Corporation, their approval of his
recent action against those films. "We think his name," the First Presi-
dency say, "should never be allowed to appear in the movies again."
The centennial of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant was observed April
27 in Washington and at Point Pleasant, Ohio, the birthplace of the great
soldier and president. At the capital a memorial of bronze was dedicated
in the Botanic Gardens. President Harding attended the exercises at
Point Pleasant. In New York an oak tree was planted at Grant's grave.
Patriarch Duncan M. McAllister observed the 80th anniversary of his
birthday, April 17. Bishop George S. McAllister, of the Eleventh ward,
Salt Lake City and Mrs. Nettie Maeser McAllister entertained a family
party at their home, in his honor. Brother McAllister looked hale and
hearty and is evidently good for many more birthday celebrations on this
side of the veil,
PASSING EVENTS 761
The water in Pea-ley's creek, Red Butte and Emigration, southeast of
Salt Lake City, was higher on May 5 than it has ever been. At Sugar
House corner the water poured over the top of the conduit at Twenty-first
South and Eleventh East streets, suspending traffic at this point. At
Seventeenth South and Fifth East streets and on the west side of the street
yards were flooded and sidewalks covered wi*h mud and debris.
President George W. McCune, of the Eastern States mission, was the
guest at a farewell party at Washington, D. C, April 30. He is to go to
Los Angeles, to take charge of a stake of the Church to be organized there.
Senator Reed Smoot, former Governor Spry, and Representative Don B.
Colton were in attendance. Elder B. H. Roberts has been appointed to
succeed Elder McCune as president of the Eastern States mission.
An, L. D. S. chapel site in Ocean Park, Cat., was dedicated, and ground
broken, April 6, in the presence of a large congregation. The building
will be 100 feet deep in the form of a T. The bar to the T will serve
as an amusement hall and also for class rooms. There will be no base-
ment. When completed the building will comfortably seat 550 people. R.
D. Rutherford, Salt Lake architect and contractor, is in charge of the
building.
Russia replied to the memorandum of the Allies, May 11, suggest-
ing that a special commission be appointed to deal with the Russian prob-
lems, after the adjournment of the Genoa conference. In the meantime a
report became current that Russia and Germany had entered into a se-
cret military agreement, April 3, by which Germany had undertaken to
furnish the "Red" army of Russia with arms and other equipment, and
with training officers.
Chicago has another Haymarket case in the coldblooded murder, May
10, of Lieutenant Terrence Lyon and Policeman Thomas Clark during
riots attributed to labor war. Rewards amounting to $50,000 were imme-
diately offered for the apprehension of the murderers. The headquarters
of the labor unions were raided by the police and prominent labor leaders,
including "Big Tim" Murphy, "Con" Shea, and Fred Mader, were ar-
rested.
Russia demands fifty billion gold rubles for damage done by the
forces of Denikine, Kolchak, Yudenicht, and Wrangel, and the loss of
Bessarabia to Rumania. The bill was presented April 15 by the Russian
soviet delegates at the Genoa conference in answer to a demand that Rus-
sia accept responsibility for the Russian pre-war debt. Lloyd George
promptly declared their claim inadmissible and asked for a favorable reply
to the demands of the allies, or the withdrawal of the Russian delegates.
Civil War was reported from Pekin, China, April 29. On that date
Wu Pei Fu attacked the forces of Chang Tso Lin that had been thrown in
a semi-circle around the capital. On May 1 fierce fighting was in prog-
ress, with the advantage on the side of the attacking forces, and on May
5, the city was captured by Gen. Wu Pei Fu. The forces of his opponent,
Gen. Chang Tso Lin were routed. The latter is said to have been the
standard bearer of a Chinese militarism, while Gen. Wu Pei Fu was the
leader of a liberal party.
Thousands are homeless in the stricken flood zones of Louisiana and
Mississippi. Particular efforts at relief were directed May 1 to the area
in central eastern Louisiana, where a lake of more than 1400 square miles
now stands on fertile farm lands and commercial towns as a result of
762 IMPROVEMENT ERA
i
the breaking of the levee of the Mississippi river near Ferriday. Harrison-
burg, La., far west of the river, but in the flood zone, presented the most
serious problems. On May 8, seventy thousand persons were reported
homeless.
Mildred Ingram Bailey, daughter of Owen A. and Mary Strong Bailey,
21 years of age, died Friday, April 7, 1922, at Los Angeles, California, of
heart trouble. She was born July 13, 1900. Her mother died about three
years ago. Miss Bailey was a trusted worker and a lovable personality in
the Improvement Era business ffice since October, 1917, until about a
year ago when she went to Los Angeles on account of her health. Her
body was brought to Salt Lake City for burial. She is survived by one
brother and five sisters.
The remains of Elmer Jesperson weie recendy shipped from over seas
and laid away in a beautiful little valley near Tucson's foothill's cemetery,
located in the desert soil of beautiful Arizona amid sunshine and flowers.
S. Spencer Porter of Tucson, Arizona, sends a eulogy for Elmer, who
was one of his comrades and who crossed the seas to fight for freedom.
He says, "We know that wreaths of glory will forever crown his brow.
Peaceful may his silent slumber be, and may we always remember that he
gave his life, offered as a supreme sacrifice to God, humanity and country."
Mrs. Anna Olsen McKay and baby were drowned, April 23 in Ogden
river, near the Hermitage. James Gunn McKay, with wife and their eight-
months old son, was on his way from their home in Huntsville to Ogden,
where he was to attend a meeting and deliver an address, when the auto
mobile went through the railing of a temporary bridge. The vehicle
turned turtle in the water. Mr. McKay was rescued by bridge workers
and escaped with only minor injuries. The baby was dead when taken
from the wrecked car, and the efforts made to save the life of Mrs. McKay
proved of no avail.
A protest was sent to the Mexican government, April 17, by the state
department, at the request of U. S Senator Wm. H. King, against the con-
fiscation by Mexico of 26,000 acres of land near Ascension in Chihuahua,
owned by settlers who are members of the Church, formerly living in
Utah. Senator King was notified by an attorney at Nogales of this con-
fiscation, and also has a resolution from Utah claimants against Mexico pro-
testing against this seizure. The petition of the claimants also asks that
the administration take whatever steps are necessary to enforce the proper
settlement by Mexico of all American claims against that government.
A children's convalescent hospital and day nursery under the direc-
tion of the Primary Association was opened at 44 North Temple St.,
Salt Lake City on May 11. Miss Anna Rosenkilde was appointed super-
visor, April 15. Miss Rosenkilde is a graduate nurse of the L. D. S. hos-
pital. During the war she was in service at Fort Sill and later was over-
seas with the A. E. F. army nurse corps having charge of 125 beds in one
of the largest base hospitals in France. She will have complete charge
of the home under the supervision of the Primary association hospital
committee, including Mrs. Louie B. Felt, president; Miss May Anderson
and Mrs. Clara W. Beebe counselors; Mrs. Alice T. Sheets, chairman in
charge of the children being cared for by the Primary association at the
hospital, and Mrs. Vilate S. Chambers. President Heber J. Grant was
present at the opening ceremonies, and dedicated the building.
Utah Lake reached its highest level during the first half of April. On
the 12th of that month a delegation from Utah county, headed by Preston
G. Peterson, met with the Utah water storage commission at Salt Lake
PASSING EVENTS 763
to call the attention of the authorities to conditions around Utah lake,
where the water was more than two feet above compromise point, and
was expected to go higher. The delegation suggested that something be
done to lower the lake immediately and also that 30,000 to 40,000 acres of
land adjacent to the lake be reclaimed by drainage. A committee con-
sisting of A. F. Doremus, Dr. Richard R Lyman, and W. 0. Creer of the
Utah water storage commission, was appointed to meet with a committee
from Utah county comprised of A. T. Money of Spanish Fork; Joseph
Welch, county agricultural agent and County Commissioner James T.
Gardner, to consider and carry out, if possible, suggestions made at the
meeting.
A Russo-Gernian treaty toas signed April 16, at Rapollo, by George
Tcbitcherin for Russia and Dr. Walter Rathenau for Germany. Both are
delegates to the Genoa conference. The treaty nullifies the Brest-Litovsk
treaty, cancels all war claims and establishes full diplomatic relations be-
tween the two countries. The British and French delegates declared that
they considered the signing of the treaty a disloyal act. On April 18, the
allies agreed to expel the German delegates from the meetings of the con-
ference commission committee dealing with Russian affairs, and recom-
mended that the reparations commission annul the Russo-German treaty.
The German delegates April 21, agreed to stay away from the meet-
ings of the commission dealing with Russian affairs, and the Russians ac-
cepted in principle the acknowledgment of Russia's pre-war debt, on
condition that they were promised a long moratorium, small interest, and
a big loan. On May 4, the reparations commission, to which the matter of
the Russo-German treaty had been referred, notified the various govern-
ments that it had failed to find that the treaty violated the Versailles
treaty.
Elder Lewis Warren Shurtliff, president of the Weber stake for 39
years, died May 2, at the family residence in Ogden. He was born in
Sullivan, Lorain county, Ohio, July 24 1835, the son of Luman A. and
Eunice B. (Gaylor) Shurtliff. The parents joined the Church the year
the son was born and went to Kirtland, Ohio. They then moved to Far
West, Mo. Subsequently the family went to Nauvoo, 111., where the senior
Shurtliff joined the Nauvoo Legion, of which he was elected major. In
1846 the family moved to Winter Quarters, and in 1851 they came to
Utah, settling first at Salt Lake and soon after in Weber county. The
deceased has for many years been prominent in the state and Church.
He has served as county commissioner, probate judge, a member of the
constitutional convention and a member of the territorial legislature. He
attended the first irrigation congress session and was at every session dur-
ing the time the congress was in existence. In civic affairs Judge Shurtliff
was also active and was the first president of the street railway system in
Ogden. In 1910 he was appointed postmaster at Ogden, serving a four-
year term. In 1854 President Shurtliff was sent by President Brigham
Young upon a colonization mission to the Salmon river country in Idaho.
While there he assisted in building Fort Lemhi. He also built the first
irrigation ditch for the colony in 1854. In 1858 Mr. Shurtliff returned
to Utah. He made a number of trips across the plains with ox teams to
assist emigrants coming to Utah. In 1867 he went to Europe as a mission-
ary. He was bishop of the Plain City ward, and acted as president of the
Weber stake since Jan. 21, 1883, which office he retained up to the time
of his death.
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Fire Is No Respecter of Persons
You may wait 'til tomorrow to insure but the fire
may not
"See our agent in your town"
[ UTAH HOME FIRE INSURANCE CO.
HEBER J. GRANT & CO., General Agents Salt Lake City, Utah
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Improvement Era, June, 1922
Two Dollars per Annum
Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second class matter?
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act rtf
October 3, 1917, authorized on July 2, 1918
Address Room 406 Church Office Building, Salt Lake City, Utah
Heber J. Grant, ) Edward H. Anderson, Business Mgr.
Edward H. Anderson, \ kditors Moroni Snow, Assistant
CONTENTS
Peace Frontispiece
Only a Picture. A Poem Ida R. Alldredge 669
Sons of Perdition and the Resurrection Prest. Charles W . Penrose 671
Sunset. A Poem Frank C. Steele ..— 674
An Unusual Accompaniment to a Baptism Dr. James E. Talmage 675
Who Shall Have the Desert? J. M. Jensen, A. M 677
The Shield Nephi Jensen 680
Parting Friends. A Vocal Duet Evan Stephens 681
"Divine Discontent" Parley A. Christensen 687
If Only You'd Play With Me. A Poem Bertha A. Kleinman 689
Life is What We Make It— III Thomas L. Martin 690
Daddy Mine. A Poem <..'. Florence L. Chidester 692
Tobacco and a Sick World Will H. Brown 693
Just Try. A Poem Leslie L. Sudweeks 694
Irrigation and Soil — III J. E. Greaves ... 695
Greed. A Poem Grace Ingles Frost 696
The Glory of ihe Foothills. A Story Claudia May Ferrin 697
The Greatest Blessing to a Man E. H. Lund 698
The Agriculture of the American Indian Vernal Willie 699
Hospitality D. C. Retsloff ... 706
Significant Conference Themes ^.Prest. Heber J. Grant 707
Lest We Forget— VIII Dr. Seymour B. Young 722
Nothing is Wasted. A Poem Ortiid E. Howell 726
The Superintendent and the Teacher. A Story D. T. Praigg 727
New Hope. A Poem Frank C. Steele 731
Rejoice in the Success of Other Men Dr. Franklin L. West 732
Editors' Table — Proclaiming the Gospel Through
the Air „ 735
What the Professors Said 736
Messages from the Missions 739
Priesthood Quorum's Table 746
Mutual Work _ 750
Passing Events _ 758
How to get the Job
You Want
This helpful book, by William L. Fletcher, is
winning its way to thousands of home libraries.
An inspiration to all struggling men and women.
Tells how to get ahead in the world, in a prac-
tical and forceful way. Any young man would
prize it as one of his most valuable possessions.
Send in your order today — $2.50
Deseret Book Company
44 E. So. Temple Salt Lake City
Prosperity
Ahead
There is prosperity ahead
for every young man or
woman who has the gumption
to train now for a position.
Our experienced faculty wait
to give you the benefit of
their long practice in quali-
fying young men ancl women
for better positions, for un-
limited opportunities, for
promotion.
If there is an obstacle in the
We have assisted hundreds
Talk over your plans with us.
way, let us help to remove it
of young people and every service we can render is cheer
fully at your disposal. Don't waste time. See us now.
L. D. S. BUSINESS COLLEGE
Salt Lake City, Utah
Day and Evening All The Year
WHEN WRITING TO ADVERTISERS, PLEASE MENTION THE IMPROVEMENT *fU.
Ask for Keeley's Picaninny Freeze, Cherryette,
or Eskimo Pie. Eat them just like a bar.
Ask Your Dealer for Z. C. M. I. Factory Made
Western Scout Shoes
Made of solid leather throughout. Comfortable to wear — have
a good appearance — guaranteed to give satisfaction
♦ FOR THE MINER FOR THE LABORER
FOR THE FARMER FOR THE MECHANIC
Or any other man whose work demands strong, serviceable shoes
We make them in three grades of elk
leather, and also in a split leather,
with and without chrome soles — in
chocolate, pearl, black.
Is Your Life Insurance Beneficial?
The very best there is in Life Insurance issued by
The Big Home Company
You need Our Insurance - We want Your Business
Beneficial Life Insurance Co.
Heber J. Grant, Pre*. SAL T L7\KB Lorenzo N. Stohl, V.Pret. & Mgr.
WHEN WRITING TO ADVERTISERS, PLEASE MENTION THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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